Tribute to Katō Tsubusa (1962-2025)

It is with great sadness that we share the news that the inventive porcelain artist Katō Tsubusa (1962-2025) has passed away at the age of sixty-three. Born into a lineage of ceramists that stretched back to the Momoyama era, Katō learned the art form from a young age. Although not initially interested in continuing the family tradition, he decided to pursue ceramics after extensive travel in his youth. The rapid pace at which his career subsequently took off spoke directly to his remarkable talent.

Katō Tsubusa was celebrated for his unique, jagged and torn, sharp yet fragile, white porcelain sculptures that are suffused in translucent seihakuji bluish-white celadon glaze. In addition to this legacy of breath-taking sculptural art, which manifested motion and the sharpness of a blade, he will long be remembered for his charm, warmth, and exuberance. Like myself, who first met him a quarter century ago, he will be very much missed be all those who were fortunate to know him.

Joan Mirviss