Izumita begins his day standing on a beach in the northern Tōhoku region of Japan. He travels back and forth along the path that leads to his studio, carrying salt-rich clay and wishing that ‘the clay could be lighter.’ Heavy and light, living and dying, he searches for a comfortable spot, halfway between opposites. ‘Energy is like the heart, like the beginning of the universe, it is concentrated on the inside, then expands eternally into the outside.’ Izumita takes the five basic elements—Fire, Earth, Water, Air and Void, perceiving each of them as a function of vibration, awareness, flow, movement and balance then tries to form them into shapes.
Izumita’s representative series, ‘Sekisoh Layers’ consists of numerous interwoven layers of clay that seem to float, the dry, white glaze serving to create a greater impression of lightness. The ‘Kikakei (Geometric)’ series represents what are probably the structural limits that can be achieved using clay. The process of Izumita’s creation is a journey to find the ultimate balance between the shape he wants to produce and the physiology of the clay, his work evolving endlessly.
Shoko Aono
