Green and black biomorphic lobed, multi-fired sculpture in the form of a pumpkin

Description

Katsumata Chieko 勝間田千惠子
Japan, born 1950
Green and black biomorphic lobed, multi-fired
sculpture in the form of a pumpkin
Reiwa era (2019–present)
2023
Stoneware with colored slip glazes
Museum purchase made possible by
Joseph and Nancy Keithley, 2024/1.352

The pumpkin is Katsumata Chieko’s signature
shape, but each work has a distinctive color
and surface treatment inspired by the layered
oil painting techniques she studied in art
school. The curved form, the inward hole,
and the subtle texture are also suggestive of
the human body. To achieve a rocky surface,
the artist covers the form with a thin piece of
cloth through which she repeatedly applies
color, leaving no trace of her brushwork.
Katsumata came to the pumpkin form when
she wanted to expand the concept of mass-
produced functional wares. She said, “I
wondered whether I might be able to express
something by combining and attaching
identically-shaped containers.... I combined
several oval-shaped vessels with pointed ends
to make a kind of pumpkin shape, and then
experimented with color to express the power
of the plant.”

(Japanese Gallery Rotation, Summer 2025)