takuro kuwata

portraits by CHIKASHI SUZUKI   Japanese artist Takuro Kuwata, 44, transforms traditional ceramic techniques into exuberant, colorful and playful sculptures brimming with energy. Drawing on wabi-sabi principles and embracing accidents, his unique, thickly layered works — from teacups to massive sculptures — become volcanic, amorphous, and sexual compositions. Defying the meticulous precision of the Japanese ceramic tradition, Kuwata textures his pieces with blisters, golden strokes, fissures, and even anime-inspired motifs, evoking geological forces like magma, rocks, and lava. Kuwata’s studio is secretly located at the heart of Japanese ceramics artistry, in the Mino region of Gifu Prefecture. But his art has gained enormous attention in the art and fashion worlds for his fearless and humoristic attitude to color, materiality, and tradition.   ALL ARTWORKS BY TAKURO KUWATA, CHAWAN (TEA BOWL), COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND SALON 94, COPYRIGHT TAKURO KUWATA