The Fashion Plate Magazine

A new exhibition by artist Hitomi Hosono, hosted at Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler’s London showroom, features contemporary ceramics and classic interiors. The showroom is situated in a Mayfair townhouse built in 1723. The space, with its English grandeur, is a fitting site for Hosono’s markedly modern, botanically themed work.

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Hosono’s show comprises 30 new pieces, scattered amidst the showroom’s antique furnishings. Featured are vases with graceful leaf and cherry blossom motifs that reflect the artist’s Japanese upbringing, although some take on a more British character. Hosono was particularly inspired by a Colefax and Fowler fabric pattern based on a document dating back to 1845 – featuring ‘beautiful roses and pansies, which appeared to be moving as if blown by a gentle summer breeze’.

This encouraged the creation of the roses and pansies bowls, which was an aesthetic as well as technical departure for her. Unlike earlier works, which tend to emanate outwards, the bowls close into themselves, allowing for a sturdier surface meant to be felt by hand.  ‘I enjoy touching flower petals, and I want people to enjoy the softness of the porcelain,’ she says.

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It takes months to perfect her plaster moulds of small leaves and flowers. She uses modified dental tools (with sharpened tips) to add detail to each component, before applying them individually to a clay surface.

The influence of Perrier-Jouët Arts Salon Prize – which Hosono won in 2013 – is demonstrated in grape-patterned vessels that nod to champagne house’s art nouveau heritage. Now a member of the Arts Salon herself, Hosono participated in the recent selection of winners, Laura Youngson-Coll and Marcin Rusak. ‘The salon’s gatherings [of creative influencers] are a fount of inspiration,’ she acknowledges, ‘Perrier-Jouët has really opened up my world.’

‘Brook Street: An Artist’s Eye’ runs until 27 October
Photography courtesy of Adrian Sassoon, London and Colefax and Fowler 
Address
Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler
39 Brook Street
London, W1K 4JE