Mieko
Tucked away amongst the lush rolling hills of Paraíba Valley, which rests in between
São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, is the colorful small village of Cunha, the ceramic capital of Brazil. The land, equipped with good clay and wood, became a haven for ceramicists working in traditional Japanese techniques. Although this town is far away from the physical and philosophical realm of Japan, the rituals that are imbued and embodied in rich glazes and wood firing techniques continue to honor the ancient craft.
Since 1975, Cunha’s ceramic traditions continue to be an abundant orchestration of passion and community. It cultivated a collective of potters with a unified vision of refining a dedication to Japanese ceramics. A major element is the Noborigama, a traditional wood fired chamber kiln, today eight are still in use, built by hand and fired with the eucalyptus wood of Cunha.
Only two potters who were a part of the founding ceramic collective are still creating in Cunha, one of which is Mieko Ukeseki. She emigrated to Sao Paulo in the 70’s from Japan, where she previously worked as a Nurse while gaining inspiration from her ex-husband who introduced her to the art of ceramics. Her approach and meticulous conception of balance within her pieces brought inspiration to the town and significantly influenced the ceramic work being made.
In viewing her work, there is a natural fluid evolution and breadth of duality. Lines don’t follow a constricted rigid nature, but rather curve and emulate the syncopation of breath. In an elegant echo of the Japanese philosophy, wabi sabi, there is a delicate ease in the gestural shapes she constructs while still maintaining the integrity of the object. Her lines speak to lightness, and propelled a revolution of aesthetics in the history of Cunha’s ceramics
Cunha’s connection to Japan goes beyond form, Mieko embodies the energetic philosophy of her heritage in everything she does. Through a prominent shift of the melding and union of two vastly defined cultures and artistic traditions, she stands as a graceful example of integrating, re-contextualizing and reconstructing the forms and ideas we hold. Cunha is a quiet land with a fruitful richness amongst valleys of green that speak to a testament of being within and beyond place. The potters that continue to keep the long tradition of ceramics alive fortify the dynamic chronicled connection to Japan through their own methodology, approach and practice. It is here in this married vision that Mieko’s legacy in Cunha tells the story of intersectional culture through a vast manner of elegant mastery.
