Foreigner (Kojin)

Suzuki Osamu, a founder of Sodeisha, escaped the predictability of clay vessels thrown on a potter’s wheel by creating objets from slab construction and eliminating a hole or mouth. Suzuki found inspiration in Neolithic Jomon tomb figures, among many other diverse ceramic sources. The title of this abstract work, Kojin, is a Japanese term historically used to refer to Westerners from Central Asia. These foreigners were depicted in Chinese ceramics as figures wearing pointed hats. One such ceramic figure, Standing Figure of a Westerner, from the Eastern Wei dynasty (534–550), isSuzuki Osamu, a founder of Sodeisha, escaped the predictability of clay vessels thrown on a potter’s wheel by creating objets from slab construction and eliminating a hole or mouth. Suzuki found inspiration in Neolithic Jomon tomb figures, among many other diverse ceramic sources. The title of this abstract work, Kojin, is a Japanese term historically used to refer to Westerners from Central Asia. These foreigners were depicted in Chinese ceramics as figures wearing pointed hats. One such ceramic figure, Standing Figure of a Westerner, from the Eastern Wei dynasty (534–550), currently on view on the museum’s third floor in Gallery 15.