Tokio Line | 2007+2012

Shinjuku, Marunouchi, and Oedo are the main branches of the Tokyo subway system. The subway plan with its clear-cut lines done in striking, strongly contrasting colours ensures optimal orientation in daily urban life.

The subway conveys people, art conveys content.

By baking this network of lines onto a simple ceramic vessel as decoration, Margareta Daepp turns her attention to new directions in historical pottery. The origins of the ceramic tradition in Japan, the sources and repositories of various kinds of potter’s earth, the artistic hallmarks of the various regional art centres are touched on just as equally as the early trade routes for east Asian ceramics in the seventeenth century.

The circular vessels in the Tokyo Line consist of two cylinders of identical height that are inserted one into the other and have a large opening. These are cast porcelain forms with slender walls. The lower section of each piece has been decorated using an elaborate on-glaze technique, while the upper section is coated in premium quality auto lacquer. Margareta Daepp keeps the balance between the two parts and their harmonious to and fro between lacquer ware steeped in tradition and contemporary printing methods in a sturdy ceramic form. The complexity of the subject matter that is conveyed culminates in this not only functional but aesthetically delightful work.

Susanne Schneemann