Wright Auction

Richard Milgrim is an American ceramic artist renowned for his mastery of Japanese tea ceremony wares (chato). Milgrim first became interested in ceramics while studying at Antioch College in Ohio, where he was introduced to Japanese pottery traditions. His passion for the art form led him to Japan in the 1970s, where he studied with Iwabuchi Shigeya, a specialist in Kyoto ceramics; Tahara Tobei, a 12th generation master of the Korean-inspired Hagi tradition; Fujiwara Yū (who was later named a Living National Treasure), and Kato Koemon, master of Mino wares. He became the first American ceramist to receive the full endorsement from a Japanese Tea School Grand Master—Dr. Sen Genshitsu, still a mentor to this day, receiving his Japanese name Richado in kanji (利茶土)—as well as having both his Japanese and American studios christened by Dr. Sen. He has been living and working in Kyoto, Japan since 1979 and also worked in Concord, Massachusetts from 2000-2013.

Milgrim acquired the present lot as a result of his connection to two important contemporaries of his chosen craft: Peter Voulkos and Peter Callas. Milgrim first crossed paths with Peter Voulkos in 1983, an auspicious year in which both artists had the first exhibitions of their work in Tokyo. Milgrim was showing work from two kilns where he apprenticed, one of them being at Bizen with his mentor, Fujiwara Yū. Yū was already familiar with Voulkos, having met him in 1965 when Yū was a visiting artist at Dartmouth, so he called Milgrim and introduced the men, whose shows happened to be just a scant couple of blocks away from one another. Ceramist Peter Callas's cousin had been, by happy accident, in one of Milgrim's college classes; she introduced the two and their paths continue to cross over the proceeding decades in and out of Japan. 

Callas traveled extensively in Japan in the early 1970s and, finding himself enamored with wood-fired pottery, built the first anagama in North America in 1976. Having previously met Voulkos on a trip to California, he invited Voulkos to visit his anagama, a visit that turned into a multi-decade working relationship as well as the impetus behind Voulkos's preference for wood-firing from then until the end of his career. An anagama, in Japanese “cave kiln,” is a type of kiln that was brought to Japan from China via Korea in the 5th century AD, consisting of a single-chamber kiln built in a sloping tunnel shape with a firebox at one end and flue at the other. In an anagama there is no physical barrier between the stoking space and the pottery space, allowing flame and ash to interact with the surface of the clay and, in contrast to electric or gas-fueled kilns, they are fueled solely by a continuous supply of firewood. The length of an anagama firing depends on the size of the kiln and can vary anywhere from two to twelve days. The fire must be fed and stoked around the clock and the final appearance of pots depends on many factors including both the reached and sustained temperatures, the amount of ash, and the wetness of the walls and the pots themselves.

Voulkos returned to Japan four times over the course of his career, including in 1995 and 1996 when he conducted workshops at the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park where he made a number of platters that were to be fired in their anagama kiln. Milgrim worked with Callas as he oversaw the firing of the present work at Shigaraki and took a number of photographs to document the kiln unloading. The present lot can be seen just inside the fire mouth of the anagama, propped up on the kiln wall to the right, still buried in charcoal and ash from the firing. Milgrim's photographs provide a rare and fascinating glimpse into the laborious, intense, and exciting process of making these powerful and rugged ceramic creations. We are honored to offer this work, a tangible reminder of artistic connections and friendships forged across continents, for the first time since its acquisition 1996.