Gyō (Dawn / Attain Enlightenment) is a Yakinuki-style White Rock Raku tea bowl created by Raku Jikinyū for his Homage to Kazimir Malevich project, exhibited at Annely Juda Fine Art in London in 2022. The exhibition formed part of Jikinyū’s ongoing Kichizaemon X series, begun in 2008, in which he creates new works in response to artists, works, and phenomena that have profoundly affected him.
Unlike traditional Raku tea bowls, Gyō is formed from coarse white Shigaraki clay mixed with silica sand and is almost entirely unglazed, allowing the rugged material to remain exposed. Vertical cuts made with a bamboo spatula facet the tall, semi-cylindrical body, while an unusually low hip and flattened area beside the foot give the form a grounded presence. Copper oxide creates areas of dark coloration across the white surface, punctuated by small green accents of chromium oxide.
Gyō was fired at Jikinyū’s mountain studio in northern Kyoto rather than in the Raku family’s traditional Black Raku kiln. The Rock Tea Bowl process involves repeated high-temperature firings at approximately 1,270°C, with mineral coloration added between firings; Gyō required two additional firings. Through this process, Jikinyū developed a mode of expression distinct from conventional Raku practice, treating the tea bowl increasingly as a sculptural form while retaining its essential identity and function.
