ALEXCIOUS

The bowl is lacquer-coated and fired

Hammered piece formed by steadily pounding a copper sheet with a wooden mallet. The surface is worked so as to give the metal a distinctive stone-like texture. To finish, the bowl is lacquer-coated and fired, making discoloration less likely than with exposed copper. The edge with fabric-like creases is polished smooth

Hiroshi Kise

The word “metalwork” tends to evoke images of cold, lifeless materials, but artist Hiroshi Kise’s works of copper abound with natural textures of wood and earth. Devoting himself to his craft in an old farmhouse in the hills on the outskirts of Kanazawa, Kise strives to make the most of the look and feel of the copper as it evolves through the painstaking process of alternately pounding the metal and heating it with a burner for hour after hour. Although the creases and dents may seem to emerge spontaneously as he taps away at the metal, Kise has a detailed design in mind even before he starts cutting away at the copper sheet. His signature finish with lacquer minimizes the potential for discoloration, ensuring that these works of art can be put to all kinds of practical uses.