Galleria Gottardo, ceramics by Shimaoka Tatsutzo 
Introducions

Adolf Zihler, collector.

In 1954, Mr Shimaoka fired his own kiln for the first time and created his first pieces as an independent potter. In that very year - as a young man - 1 had the opportunity to visit Japan for the first time. I did not meet Mr. Shimaoka then. In fact, I did not even know of his existence. One thing, however, became clear after this and two more brief visits in 1955, namely that the Japanese are great craftsmen. Taking up residency in Japan 5 years later, my wife and I became attracted not only to the traditional arts and crafts of Japan, but also to things mingei. And there, in a folkcraft shop -among dozens of pieces of contemporary pottery- were six plates which somehow caught my eye and touched my heart. Their design with a stamped chrysanthemum pattern was so simple and honest and the ash glaze was so quiet and refined. I was fortunate, that my wife presented them to me on my birthday a few weeks later. That was in 1962. Another seven years passed, before I met Mr. Shimaoka personally. By chance, I visited Mr. Hamada Shoji, the master potter and co-founder of the mingei movement. Upon parting, Mr. Hamada mentioned to me: "Now, as you seem to be so much interested in our pottery, you should by all means see my neighbour and former student Shimaoka. One day he will be a very famous potter, too" .Being a resident of Japan for more than 30 years, I had the unique opportunity to closely follow the evolution and maturation in Mr. Shimaoka's work. lt was a pleasure to see his rope-impressed inlay get even more rhythmical, to observe his perfectioning of the salt glaze technique and those unique pieces with kiln-effects and fly-ash glaze. I wish to thank Mr. Shimaoka for lifting the veil and introducing me to a fascinating world of beauty. My special thanks also go to Mr. Yanagi Sori, President of the Japan Folkcrafts Museum for writing an introductory message and Mr. Aoki Hiroshi, Chief Curator at the Tochigi Prefectural Museum of Fine Arts for his kind permission to use the technical essay that so superbly describes Mr. Shimaoka's techniques. I am also indebted to the Fondazione Galleria Gottardo - and here especially to Mr. Sirio Bassi - for the ready willingness to show part of my collection for the first time to the public. Mr. Luca Patocchi and Mr. Alberto Bianda, as well as the entire staff of the Galleria Gottardo did a great job in realizing the exhibit and this book. To you -the visitor to the show and reader of this book- I wish that you can, when looking at Mr. Shimaoka's works of art, feel the joy, excitement and happy moments I experienced while collecting these pieces.

Adolf Zihler
Ronco s/Ascona, September 1999

italiano


TEXT
Click here for reading the introductions.
Luca Patocchi, Curator of the Galleria Gottardo.
Yanagi Sori, Message from the Japan Folk Crafts Museum, Tokio.
Bibliography.
Biography and most important exibits from Shimaoka Tatsutzo

Click here to enter the different descriptive sections of the exhibition.
Tecniques Not Used with Robe Impressed Inlay.
Transparent Glaze.
Mixed Techniques.

Colouration.
Slip Dripping (Trailed Glaze).
Salt Glaze.
Kiln Effects.       


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