Chariots on Fire introduces: 


Alchemist-potter Tenshin Juba creates modern earthenware and stoneware from his home-studio in the lush mountain hill-side of Kobe, Japan.  It is terrain Juba has explored since childhood:  densely green in summer, and thick with towering bamboo and moss-laden pine; by winter, the earth occluded from view beneath layered snowfall.

Here, Juba creates in rhythmic manner—his sourcing of raw materials facilitated by the cycles of his natural world; it is the artist’s intention to let the laws of nature prevail.

A combination of organic materials, such as rice straws and chestnut husks, are paired with ‘low-tech’ methods to catalyze a variety of results:  smooth, glassy finishes and saturated, inky blue-black, deep caramel, or naturally-occurring platinum tones. 

The addition of richly-mineralized water, for which Juba’s area is known, dilutes pigment-infused clay, transforming it into liquid ‘slip,’ a substance with which the artist paints upon the surface of his forms.  Pure, kinetic gestures define Juba’s hand-poured mode of expression.  A rake-like instrument of bound pine-needles pulls through liquid slip to offer a more intricate, pattern-like effect.

As a final process, the artist selects from his hand-constructed kilns: whether the more controlled environment of the electric, or a wild, 10-metre wide high-fire kiln, designed specifically to accommodate Juba’s larger-scaled pieces.  Once the pieces are placed in the kiln, the workings of chemistry take over.

—Venice, California, May 2019

Chariots on Fire exclusively represents Juba Tenshin in the USA.

Juba Tenshin Chariots on Fire.jpg
Modern Slipware by Juba Tenshin

Modern Slipware by Juba Tenshin

Modern color slipware on Porcelain

Modern color slipware on Porcelain