Jun Kawaguchi is one of the funkiest, coolest ceramic artists I've ever met. The first time I met him I was taken aback, to say the least, by his short, spiked hair, green velvet jacket, and a pair of slacks with cartoon designs that looked like the Joker -- not your typical shibui Japanese potter.
Kawaguchi is having an exhibition at Gallery OH, a five-minute walk from Ichinomiya Station in Ichinomiya, Aichi Prefecture, until April 4.
People say that when looking at a piece of pottery, the creator's personality and even age are to be seen by a discerning eye. Well, it couldn't be truer than with Kawaguchi; his work is as eclectic as the man himself: colorful porcelain objets with various wiggly doodads attached in seemingly random order.