Vol. 11 A painter named Funaki Kenji.
Funaki Kenji was born in Shimane Prefecture in 1927. He and his father, Michitada, were two generations of brilliant artists whose works are in the collection of the Japan Folk Crafts Museum in Komaba. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2015, but he is still my favorite ceramic artist.
Funaki's greatest appeal is his descriptive ability. He had aspired to be a painter, and his skills are evident. Therefore, the title of this exhibition is not "potter," but "painter. When he was a child, he drew pictures of kappa (water imps), and his mother praised his work, which led him to create many works depicting kappa after that.
He studied under Shoji Hamada and was later discovered by Bernard Leach, and in 1942 he went to England to work with Leach. He was the only person to have a wedding ceremony at the Nippon Mingeikan, which gives us a glimpse into the good nature of his personality, as he must have been well-liked by Hamada and other teachers of the first generation of Mingei artists.
The combination of his talent for description and his sense as a ceramic artist inevitably results in a one-of-a-kind work of art, and it makes sense that a wonderful world would unfold.
Mr. Funaki's style, in which he performs a number of techniques, is one that will continue to capture my heart.
PROFILE
After working for United Arrows and Landscape Products, he established Swimsuit Department in 2010. In September 2015, he presided over the first modernism show in Japan.
http://swimsuit-department.com
