[Ceramic artist: Ryuji Iwasaki] Between light and white

Ryuji Iwasaki's home and studio is located in a quiet residential area in the south of Osaka.

The walls, made of an abundance of wood, are lined with an orderly display of all the vessels that have been created to date, creating a scene reminiscent of a small art museum.

The white vessels, which softly reflect the natural light, breathe in the calm atmosphere.

Iwasaki's works are filled with a dignified stillness and human warmth.

It is the beauty of chance that is born not from calculation but from inspiration.

The unexpected colors that appear during firing, the fluctuations of the glaze - it is in these fleeting changes that his beauty resides.

For him, the color white is the color of beginnings that holds infinite possibilities.

From the moment he realized that "any color can be applied to white," his range of expression expanded greatly.

Spraying glaze, firing, and trying again, he sharpens his senses while moving back and forth between chance and necessity.

This exploration is filled with the delicacy of a musician searching for sound.

The workshop that supports his production is the family home where he was born and raised, which was renovated with the help of an architect friend.

The large window in front of the potter's wheel offers a view of the changing greenery of the seasons.

The budding of spring, the light of summer, the harvest of autumn, the silence of winter.

This change in color seems to enhance the vessel's gentle color.

Iwasaki's creations are filled with freedom and curiosity.

"What happens when you combine this with this?"

The accumulation of these questions creates new expressions.

He is inspired by the shapes and colors of fruit and the beauty of imbalance that lies in nature.

The colors and shapes are not too deliberate. It is in this "in-between" that a life-like flexibility resides.

Believe in experience over knowledge - Rather than learning from a book, see for yourself and accept the results.

This accumulation gives the work a certain depth.

Even in an age where information is overflowing, don't hesitate and continue to believe in what you love.

That pure passion resides within the vessel as a definite heat.

By steadily walking the path you believe in, you will find your own place in the world before you know it.

The sound of the potter's wheel, the heat of the kiln, and the light streaming in through the window.

All of this passes through his hands and is imbued into the vessel.

No pretense, just honesty.

Ryuji Iwasaki's white tableware reflects a new landscape today as well.