GRACE AND FRAGILITY: VESSELS BY

MAKOTO SAITO & JUNG SAN

 

Japanese ceramicist Makoto Saito embarked on a career
as a full-time designer and artist in 2018. Before that she had been working as a table maker.

In her solo work, Saito creates pieces that explore the limits of perception and aims to question the relationship between master and servant;
object and subject; life and death.

 

Vessel

The work that Saito has contributed to the Cluster Crafts online exhibition and store is a series of vessels. These mark a clear departure
from her previous collections of tableware. Unlike Saito’s tableware, which is trimmed on the wheel, the vessels are thrown on a wheel
and then each finished by hand.

Saito explains the attraction of the clay material and the appeal
of the grace and delicacy you can create with it.

 
 

Vessel

“I don’t mean to make anything particularly modern or minimal,
but I do think my products are, if anything, modern,” says Saito.
“I think the fragility of clay has a peculiar attraction.” 

The vessels have an almost metallic colour finish, inspired by the shine and shimmer of lacquers. The surfaces and hues are uneven, giving each piece a unique character and texture. Each vase is a once-off,
and several are available on the Cluster Crafts online store.

 
 

Vessel

 

Vessel

 
 

FLIN vase

 
 

Korean designer Jung San is based in the town
of Incheon in South Korea. He’s been working
on his own brand of ceramics for the last three years.

 Like Saito, San’s collections previously existed
of tableware sets: pieces like cutlery, trays, and tea
and coffee utensils. His contribution to the Cluster Crafts online collection, however, consists of vases and vessels and demonstrates a new direction for the artist.

The vases are fabricated mainly out of metal.

 
 

FLIN vase

 
 

“I work with various metal materials such as silver, brass, iron
and stainless steel,” he says. “For the Wave Vase series I mainly used stainless steel materials. I cut the metal sheet into a circle and spin
it to make a basic shape. Then I made a whole body by methods including welding.”

San uses metal to create a sense of lightness in his work by creating thin, sharp angles that have both a sense of strength and delicacy.

WAVE vase

WAVE vase

“The process of making metal – which has kind of cold properties –
into a new form from my imagination is so attractive to me.”

The series of vases on the Cluster platform appear in soft colours,
which San describes as emotional.

 “The pastel tones are used to give a subtle and soft feeling,
and the texture of the metal surface was also shown,” says San.
“I hope you can feel the influence of the work in space
and the empathy it brings.”

 
 

Vessels by both artists are available to view and purchase
on the Cluster Crafts online exhibition and store.

Thank you for reading,
Katie De Klee & Cluster Team.