The exhibition, called Beautiful Lines, was timed to mark the 140th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Hungary and Japan as well as the 50th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, said Japan's ambassador to Hungary Nabekura Shinichi at the opening. A variety of programmes and events have been planned to mark the anniversaries, including ones that expose Hungarians to Japanese arts and culture, as well as a visit by the Crown Prince of Japan, he added.
Beautiful Lines, which earlier showed at the Herend Porcelain Museum, can be seen at the Budapest History Museum until July 5, said the museum's deputy director Beatrix Basics.
The origin of the ceramics Kato makes is not Japanese, but goes back to the last golden age of Persian ceramics in the 12th and 13th centuries, during the Seljuk Empire. Kato's father, Takuo, rediscovered the Persian lustre-glaze method in the 1970s, after more than a decade of experimenting. Kato assisted with his father's research.
"In addition to perfecting solutions to technical problems of Persian ceramics manufacture, I endeavour to bring all this into a harmonious whole with my own personality with informal and creative ceramics forming perspectives in mind," the artist says.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
