Shining Sea Reflecting on Clouds

Miyashita Zenji

2001

Porcelain with underglaze blue and gold, silver, and platinum amalgam

Minneapolis Institute of Art

A tall, bulbous vase with a square base is decorated with horizontal lines that suggest waves. The vase transitions from a light blue at the top to a deep blue at the bottom. Kyoto ceramist Miyashita Zenji trained under his potter father, Zenju, as well as the ceramic sculptor Kiyomizu Ku_bei at Kyoto Art University. He rapidly took the ceramic world by storm when he developed a new technique of layering thin bands of colored clay onto the surface of his vessels. Ranging in tone from dark to light, these irregular bands suggest distant hills, drifting clouds, or rolling waves. Gallery Not on View Gift of Jenny and John Bernstein and the Harriet Hanley Estate