Shio Kusaka

June 24, 2010—Shio Kusakaʼs first exhibition at Anton Kern Gallery will comprise 100 porcelain and stoneware pots. Kusaka has developed a distinct formal language; her shapes, patterns, colors, and glazing techniques are immediately recognizable. While she cites vessels from 18th-Dynasty Egypt, late-BronzeAge Cyprus, and Yayoi-period Japan among her influences, her pots feel closer to modernist and contemporary aesthetics than these ancestors. What intrigues Kusaka in the making of pottery are the irregularities and the slight unevenness resulting in the attempt to create precise symmetry. All her pots have a distinct one-of-a-kind look. They are delicate to the touch, but handle easily because of their wellcentered weight and sense of gravity. Kusaka lives and works in Los Angeles.

The exhibition will open on Thursday, July 15, and run through Friday, August 20, 2010. During the summer, the gallery is open Monday through Friday, 10 am - 6 pm. For further information and