Chawan Landscapes is a series of works started in 2020. Chawan, the vessels used in the Japanese tea ceremony, embody the poetic metaphor of a “hand-held universe” and elevate the tea bowl into a manifestation of abstract spirituality.
Liquid muds from the fern forest, and sumi ash, form a substantial part of the paint, unifying the tea bowl, the forest, and my painting practice.
While having practiced sado, the Japanese tea ceremony, for nearly twenty years, I never intended to make paintings of Chawan(s). Yet one day, I realized that I had actually painted one. Read more…