Hiroshi Goseki Japanese, 1988

     Once the main apprentice of the living national treasure in bizen, Jun Isezaki, Hiroshi Goseki (b. 1988) is on the frontier of innovation in the traditional and well-established bizen style. Goseki outsources no aspect of his creative process; the import of bizen clay to his studio in Ibaraki prefecture, lumber foraging, a combination of wheel-thrown and hand-built techniques, and constant refueling of a the fourteen-day kiln fire required of bizen class ceramics are all elements that contribute to the artist’s unique pieces.

"In these days of sudden war and world turmoil, I wondered what potters were thinking and doing with clay and fire in the unstable world of the Sengoku Period, the distant past. When I make objects such as tea bowls, I pray that they will be used in a peaceful world. Sometimes I think that making things in the face of war is hopeless. However, works of art can enrich people's hearts and minds. Even if such hope is small, it can never be meaningless. However small, I pray that such hope will never be powerless."

– Hiroshi Goseki