[Komachi Engi] Mami Kato — Where She Stands Now

In the February 1 issue of Hono Geijutsu, in the feature “Japanese Ceramics Shining on the World Stage,” I recommended Mami Kato as a gallery-recommended artist. Beginning with her activities in France, she has expanded her presence across Europe — including Spain — as well as into Asia and the United States, and last year she successfully held a solo exhibition at DAIICHI ART in New York.

I first met Mami about three and a half years ago.
When I introduced her work on this blog for the first time, the title I used was something like “The Curious Hole-Enthusiast Who Creates a Frost World.” Looking back, it was rather playful. But rereading that text now, it’s clear that at the time, Mami’s awareness was strongly directed toward the inside of the vessel.

What first drew me to her work was the depth and expansiveness of the interior, and the embracing power of the form. I clearly remember sensing her deep attachment to the indescribable shape of the vessel itself.

“Yes, compared to then, I think my awareness has shifted outward. Or perhaps I’ve learned to entrust more to the clay. For example, with Sakuya Yo no Hana, I initially began with the intention of making a chawan, but I felt as if the clay kept guiding me outward. Rather than following my rational mind that said ‘it must be this way,’ I chose to follow the character the clay was leading me toward — and the drinking rim disappeared.”

The chawan “Yoimiya” and the vessel “Sakuya Yono Hana” presented in this exhibition were, frankly, shocking for those of us who firmly believe that chawan stand at the pinnacle of ceramic art. Sakuya Yo no Hana has no defined drinking rim, the lip proliferates outward, and a chakin cannot pass through it in the usual way. Yet it is not impossible to drink from, nor is it unusable. And when placed beside Yoimiya, its presence is equally dignified. In form and color, it lacks nothing. Both works possess a presence that allows us to say, without hesitation: this is a chawan.

“That outward quality of Sakuya Yo no Hana developed even further upward into Iris. Even if I want to stretch upward, gravity exists — I cannot make a vessel float in midair. I think that feeling within me manifested itself as this form.”

What was once a deep, inwardly directed devotion to the inside of the vessel has, through numerous exhibitions abroad, workshops, and travels, gradually turned outward and upward. Sakuya Yo no Hana in particular posed a profound question for me as well. As someone who deals with tea utensils, I have long valued the concept of utility. Yet here was a work that boldly set aside that value — and in doing so, appeared even more “chawan-like” than conventional chawan. Confronting this dilemma, I ultimately decided to present Sakuya Yo no Hana as a “vessel” in name, but to price it on the same level as a chawan.

Around that time, I happened to hear former professional baseball shortstop and coach Takuro Ishii say on YouTube, “There are many batting theories, but in the end, it’s just: when the ball comes, hit it.” Hearing that, something suddenly clicked for me.

Perhaps vessels are the same.

Beyond theory and definition, what remains in the end is whether the presence is beautiful. The form made to be used, and the form that attempts to go beyond use. In that tension, the artist hesitates, experiments, and sometimes steps across the line. It is precisely because of this struggle that chawan remain endlessly compelling.

For me, where Mami Kato stands now has also become a new guidepost — pointing outward, and upward.