Akira Tsuzuki 都築明

静謐な中に
強い信念の光るうつわたち

やきものの町、波佐見

都築が窯を構える波佐見町は、佐賀県有田町から車で20分ほど。有田焼の下請け産地として発展してきた波佐見は、江戸時代から続く窯元が密集する中尾山や、原料となる陶石の採石場跡地が点在する、「やきものの町」だ。少し車を走らせれば、日本の棚田百選・鬼木棚田を始め、昔ながらの田園風景が広がる。この小さな美しい町で、陶芸家・都築明の作品は生まれている。

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たどり着いた黒のニュアンス

都築の作品といえば、黒を基調としたシンプルでミニマルな美しさが特徴だ。黒と一言で言っても、それは時に緑っぽくもグレーっぽくもある、ニュアンスのある色合い。この独特の黒は、下地の黒い土に、透明釉が合わさることによって生まれている。色付きの釉薬によって色を固定してしまうことも可能だが、この透明釉によって引き出される黒の奥行きにこそこだわりたい、と彼は語る。色のみにとどまらず、直線と曲線が織りなす建築的なフォルムも、都築作品の大きな魅力だ。無駄を削ぎ落としたシンプルなフォルムの中に、ミリ単位のこだわりが生む構造的な美しさが感じられる。

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静かな地で、
ものづくりに向き合う

もともと山形の大学で陶芸を学んだ都築は、卒業後、波佐見を制作の拠点として選んだ。波佐見は量産を生業とする窯元こそ多いものの、個人作家が活躍しているイメージはあまりない。都築は敢えて、作家の少ないこの地を選んだという。材料や窯の確保など、必要なものは揃えられながら、余計な雑音のないところで自分の創作に集中できる、作家にとっては理想的な環境なのかもしれない。器はあくまで料理を盛るためのもの、主張しすぎず、料理が合わさって完成するものを作りたいと控えめに語る都築に、とても穏やかで静かな中にまっすぐ貫かれた、ブレない信念を感じた。

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1980
宮城県仙台市生まれ
2005
東北芸術工科大学大学院卒業
長崎県波佐見町へ
以後クラフトフェア、展示会を中心に活動

Ceramics residing in peacefulness with strong beliefs

A town of ceramics, Hasami

Hasami-cho, where Tsuzuki sets his kiln is about 20 min away by car from Arita-cho, Saga-ken. Hasami expanded as a production area of subcontractors of arita ware. It is a “town of ceramics” for there is Nakaoyama with many pottery kilns since Edo period and are quarry sites of pottery raw materials. If you take a drive around, you can find good old Japanese country scenery like Onigitanada, which was selected as one of the Top 100 Terraced Paddy Fields in Japan. In this small beautiful town, the potter Tsuzuki’s artwork is produced.

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The black nuance he finally achieved

Tsuzuki’s signature work features the color black with the beauty of simplicity and minimal art. Black is not a single color, and it can sometimes be greenish or greyish, with shades of nuance. This unique black is produced by the combination of the black soil base and transparent glaze. You can fix the color by using a colored glaze, but he says that he wants to focus on the depths of blackness brought by the clear glaze. Not only the color, but the shape of Tsuzuki’s constructive wares with lines and curves is also what attracts people. You can find the structural beauty in simple shapes eliminating unnecessity and showing great persistence even in the millimeter range.

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Challenging production of ceramics in a peaceful place

He chose Hasami as his production site after graduation from a college in Yamagata where he learned pottery. You can find many pottery businesses with mass production but not many individual potters. He says that he deliberately chose this place with a few artists. This may be a perfect environment for an artist, where you can acquire your need, materials and kilns, but still can focus on work with no disturbance. He humbly says that the wares are for serving food, and he would like to make wares that are complete when it’s serving dishes; at the same time, you can see his unwavering principle standing firm in calmness and tranquillo.

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980 Born in Sendai-shi, Miyagi-ken
2005 Finished the master’s course at Tohoku University of Art and Design
Moved to Hasami-cho, Nagasaki-ken
Has been working actively as craft fairs and exhibitions since then