Mariko Shibata

A space like a still-life, harbouring the precarious fragility of pottery
Shibata places onto a table, pieces of pottery with transparent centers, through which one can see to the other side. One gets a sense of modernity from the fineness of the vessels, whilst tension is created by their obvious fragility if handled. The works employ several different ceramic techniques; wiping is used to apply various pigments to their thin wall-surface. So the viewer realizes that pottery exist just for display, with no practical use. Seeing the exhibits, we feel a kind of confusion at the contradiction inherent in ‘unusable pottery’, whilst at the same time a certain comfort in the recognition of familiar forms; thus communication between viewer and artist is triggered. The silhouettes of the pots and the ambience around them also create a sense of timeless tranquility, just like that of a still-life painting.
Bibliography;
ⅰPottery､New Sensation: 50 OBJECTS, 1999-2005 published by INAX,2005
ⅱ’The Artist’s Comment’ by Mariko Shibata from The Expression and the Potential in Contemporary Ceramic, Aichi Prefecture Ceramic Museum (1996)  

27: Still Life on a White Desk