The Generational Crossroads show opened Saturday night at Lacoste Gallery to an enthusiastic crowd that numbered several hundred over the two hour plus length of the opening. The Japanese Consul, a Japanese film crew and many collectors and admirers, many of whom drove up from New York and beyond, created a full house at the gallery. As the gallery heated up the only relief was to step outside into a light but cool rain.

Lucy Lacoste took apart her gallery and reinvented it with charcoal gray walls and none of the usual shelving, only pedestals and individual shelves for the work. The effect was stunning and the beautiful colors of Bizen were easily seen. Jeff Shapiro and Tim Rowan had over 15 pieces each and many were sold. (Some similar and smaller pieces can be seen in the Gallery portion of this site.)

It was a coup to have the work of Isezaki Jun and Kakurezaki Ryuichi on display as they are both much sought after in Japan. Isezaki was recently named a Living National Treasure for Bizen and Kakurezaki’s chawan sold recently in Japan amid near panic buying by collectors (see e-yakimono.net for this story). Two of Kakurezaki’s chawan were in the show and an Oribe one was taken by a collector from Brooklyn NY. Each artist had only five or six pieces in the show but they were enough to establish mastery. Either the prices or lack of knowledge left many of these exquisite pieces unsold. Koichiro, Jun’s son, had some 15 pieces and many sold due to their strong design and less agressive pricing.

Since all the artists had worked together at some point, their individual approaches can be studied and one can see the different results in size, firing and regard for function and tradition. Jeff made the point that he is not a Bizen artist since he works without that clay and outside that strong local culture of ceramics. His is a creative response to a uniquely American experience even when influences can be discerned. The same can be said for Tim Rowan whose work is very strong and shows wonderful effects from his firings on unrefined clay.

Photos: top, Lacoste window; center, Lucy introducing Isezaki Jun, Jeff Shapiro and Tim Rowan; bottom, Kakurezaki and Koichiro