Vessels are shadowy shapeshifters—morphic geological bodies that contain ancient and imaginative geometries. A strange uncanniness is embedded in Masaomi Yasunaga’s ceramic vessels, evoking fossils and corporeal architecture. The sheen of some of their glazed surfaces juxtaposed against the jagged edges of the rocks feels supernatural and cosmic, appearing as though they are made of bits of stardust. I picture Yasunaga’s ceramic forms as chunks of earth that were once mysteriously sucked into a black hole, spaghettified, and spat back out. My eyes luxuriate in the glazes and the flecks of stone and mosaic tiles that glob onto the ceramic surfaces like taffy. Some stones and glazing evoke sea glass or a plastic bottle warped by the sun. As I squat down to comprehend the intricacies of their surfaces, I get lost in the details. My mind meanders into realms of geological fantasy, imagining what the fossilized garbage of the future might look like. I wonder what geological processes are in store for our plastic planet; how will nature swallow our monstrous mess? (I know, I know. How human of me to project such a fantasy!) The adjacent room feels like a geological time warp—the walls and ceiling are covered in a rich reddish-orange clay that feels hot and pulsing as though it were breathing. Vessels perch on the ground like a family of critters in their cave home, vessels resting inside larger vessels like nesting dolls, mimicking spirals of time. Yasunaga prompts us to think imaginatively about rocks and matter, broadening our perception so we may see the emergent energies embedded in seemingly silent entities, inviting us to make discoveries from picking up stones / 石拾いからの発見 (as the title of the exhibition suggests). Masaomi Yasunaga’s work evokes the mystery and magic of the universe. 

NonakaHill 
720 N Highland Avenue
Los Angeles CA 90038
On view through May 20, 2023