"Growing into Roots" by kozy kitchens @ GR2 (Sept 8-26)

"Growing into Roots" is the name of an upcoming new gallery show by kozy kitchens (of Kozyndan), with a dedicated focus on ceramic arts by Dan Kitchens (1 half of Kozyndan). Exhibit launches Sept 8th at GR2 (6:30pm-10pm), and exhibits thru Sept 26th, 2018 (Facebook event page).

Scroll thru for preview snaps and words from Dan himself. Stay connected to IG @kozykitchens for (possible) further reveals.

"This summer I had the honor of attending the prestigious residency program at the Shigaraki Ceramics Cultural Park in Shiga prefecture, Japan, to further my exploration of ceramics, a medium that I have developed a passion for in the last 6 years. It was a humbling experience to learn traditional techniques and to use the traditional wood fueled kilns, as well as discover that all the local clays and different techniques of glazing and firing employed in my home country for centuries. During my 3 month stay at the residency I chose to make learning about these techniques, about my own cultural heritage, my priority. I continued working with the same " bunny primitive" forms I had been creating in the US, and found so much joy in discovering these parts of my culture I wasn't aware of before. "

"It's struck me that I had left Japan in 1997 as a teenager, wanting to escape what I thought of as a rigid, staid culture, for the relative excitement and artistic freedom of the USA. I have made a good life here in Los Angeles over the last two decades, and have been fortunate to make a living from my artistic practice, but I have missed my family and thought of this residency as a good excuse to see more of them while I continued to work. What I found, though, was a new appreciation for my own heritage."

"Maybe it is just a function of having been away so long, or the newly chaotic cultural climate in the US these last few years, or maybe I have just matured enough to appreciate Japanese culture (a culture that, unlike American culture, really reveres, and in many ways is geared toward, older people). Probably it is a combination of all these things, but whatever the case, attending the residency, and creating the works I am presenting in this exhibition, altered my direction in life, and gave me a new understanding of my identity. "

I fired 1/3 of my sculptures in the ittekoi wood kiln. It was my first time using a wood kiln. It was over 90 degrees, a typhoon was about to land, and took me about 12 hours. I was very sleep deprived trying to finish glazing everything on time and I didn’t know what I was doing. Sweaty and dusty and gross, I looked like a Japanese gardener gang from Central America. @yoshikorakusai helped me get started, @asaphot stopped by and kept me company, we celebrated when the temperature hit 1230 Celsius, @sitaceramics helped me with loading and shifts and cook me some food over the kiln, and Korean master #kwanghyolee was so generous and helped me finish the firing. It was totally group effort. Some pieces got knocked over by fire wood and got stuck on the kiln furniture. Got some really fun result! Thank you sooo much for helping me, everyone at #陶芸の森！

A post shared by kozy kitchens 今村こずえ (@kozykitchens) on Aug 9, 2018 at 6:50am PDT

GR2 / "Giant Robot 2" @ 2062 Sawtelle Boulevard, Los Angeles, California (Facebook)