Kikuo Saito: Pictorial Clay

On view: March 4 – May 7 2023
Curated by Jim Walsh

Kikuo Saito completed two cycles of pictorial ceramic wall plaques at the Clayworks Studio in Lower Manhattan in 1980 and 1984.

At Clayworks, Saito was provided with fresh wet clay slabs that were about three quarters of an inch thick and roughly two by two feet. He incised, gouged and gently folded edges of the slabs, taking advantage of the differences in the clay as it dried to make a variety of marks and cuts. As his work continued, Saito applied liquid clay slips and glazes.

The clay pieces that Kikuo Saito completed forty years ago are, in part, a confirmation of his ongoing painting at the time, as well as an improvisational exploration of what comes later. The leap from paint to clay seemed natural for Saito. The transition of the wet, primal clay from mud to durable hardness rang familiar to the subtle shift in the value change of color of thickened acrylic from the wet to dry state.

Saito’s Pictorial Clay pieces are engagements of his reflective expression and stand on their own and in harmony with his more well-known works.

Gallery Hours:
Friday-Sunday 10am-5pm
Thursday by appointment
[email protected]

Image: Kikuo Saito, Winter Step (1984), Stoneware, 20¾″ H × 20½″ W