SGW Lab is pleased to present a selection of works from Yuta Segawa’s new collection.

​

Gold has fascinated people throughout history. It is also a popular material to decorate ceramics in the past and today. When we think of these pieces of art ornated in gold, we often imagine the ones with a smooth shiny finish – sparkling and reflecting in light.

​

Japanese writer Junichiro Tanizaki illustrates his thoughts on ‘unpolished beauty’ in his essay, ‘In Praise of Shadows,’ discussing the Japanese and Chinese attraction to cloudiness in art. In particular, he points out how before the use of electricity, people would generally appreciate art indoors in a candlelit room. As Tanizaki says, ‘their extravagant use of gold, I should imagine, came of understanding how it gleams forth from out of the darkness and reflects the lamplight.’

​

In a contemporary well-light environment, we no longer have access to the ‘faint, smokey lustre’ that Tanizaki described. This collection of 17 miniature pots reflect Yuta’s process of learning about the aesthetic concept of cloudiness.

​

-----

​

All of the miniature pots in this collection are hand-painted with three layers of genuine gold.