Those who had an opportunity to see the recent event at the Yakimono Paris gallery are probably itching to learn a little more about Uenaka Tsuyoshi. The artist in question is a truly famous modern Japanese potter who primarily continues to work in the tamba yaki scene. This has made his work particularly attractive to those who enjoy seeing artists mix elements of both new and old.

This has been a common theme at the Paris Yakimono gallery lately, and it seems a lot of people truly do enjoy that kind of thing. Uenaka-sensei’s work primarily revolves around works, which have been fired by wood. This time tested technique has ensured that each of his pieces is slightly unique.

While they might not be completely uniform, they do have a charm that’s their own and they’re quite elegant. Like other tamba artists, the glazes generally catch the eye first. These glazes run across a pallet of colors that are considered pleasing, but they’re not really too vibrant. Certainly the glazes are attractive, but they’re not so garish as to detract from the simple elegance of the actual art forms.

On the other hand, many of these pieces are quite slight and that makes them stand out. This might sound like an oxymoron, but it’s important to remember a bit of Japanese philosophy when examining the pieces. An object need not have an incredibly strong force to make a remarkably strong impact on the viewer. This can be applied to many aspects of life, and it’s obvious that Uenaka-sensei has long made this element of design a very serious aspect of his personal artistic flavor.

Fans of his tamba work wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s easy to see some other aspects of tamba yaki flavor here as well, and astute observers might want to try to catch as many as possible when having a look. Pay close attention to the general silhouettes of individual pieces by this particular artist. They might seem to hearken back to those of other yakimono artists, and it’s obvious that imitation is truly flattery when done by a master of his craft like Uenaka-sensei.

Indeed, some younger artists are now starting to learn these forms from his own art and that says a great deal about the individual influence that he’s had on the art world thus far. Students might want to pay close attention here.