Wordless Intimacy
A Japanese Sake Cup Exhibition
02.06 - 28.06.2026
Exhibition Statement
“I only need to silently extend my sake cup; you only need to receive it and quietly lift it to your lips. Very simple. Very intimate. Very right.”
— Haruki Murakami 《Supposing My Words Are Whiskey 》
A cup speaks without words. It holds the quietest kind of accord between people.
This summer, I want to curate an exhibition for this “wordless intimacy.”
I am Enders Wong, founder of Touch Ceramics. This June in Hong Kong, with summer heat intensifying, it’s the perfect time to seek serenity in the cool clarity of sake. Yet when sake has no vessel, it remains only liquid in motion. Only when it is shaped through the fire, the carving, and the disciplined hands of the maker—does it gain form, temperature, and even a kind of soul.
‘Wordless intimacy’ lives between the sake cup and its drinker. At times, there is nothing to say—only the gesture of lifting the vessel, and the other person knows.
This intimacy also exists between an artist and the material they choose. This summer, I have invited nine artists from Japan. Some work in ceramic, shaping clay into vessel and form; others cut and assemble glass, translating light and shadow into luminous compositions. Though their techniques differ, each piece shares a common purpose: to craft sake cups that feel effortless to hold, and true to drink from.
Shikada Yosuke — A glass artist whose blown thin forms refract light, as if sake were suspended in air.
Masayuki Uraguchi — A master of celadon, creating deep crackled textures through precise glazing.
Akiko Tsunenobu — A specialist in cloisonné enameling, using metal as the base and glazes as colour to render sake in vivid harmony.
Toshiyasu Nakamura — A kiriko (cut-glass) artist, shaping glass with diamond-like cuts that make light bloom.
Takaya Fukuoka — A successor to Kiyomizu ware (Takatori tradition), pursuing an ideal of both extreme lightness and gentle touch.
Youtarou Isezaki — Grandson of Isezaki Jun, one of the Living National Treasures; grounded in Bizen-yaki, he creates a contemporary “modern landscape.”
Chiemi Takaki — An expert in colored slip inlay techniques, letting blossoms seem to grow from within the ceramic body.
Yukifumi Tada — A contemporary interpreter of Kutani ware, reshaping tradition with geometric motifs and gold-and-silver accents.
Nao Okita — A glass artist who layers kiln techniques to build dreamlike gradients.
As the old saying goes: “Sake has its elegance; urns and jars have their refinement.” Fine sake deserves a fine vessel—but the most beautiful vessel has never been about display. It is about understanding.
Glass and clay reflect the same intimacy in different ways—one mirrors sake’s transparency, the other embraces its warmth. Two materials, one unspoken bond.
This June, I invite you to visit Touch Ceramics. Choose the cup that speaks to you. Pour your sake, raise the vessel to your lips with a friend, and let the conversation remain quietly unspoken.
Enders Wong
Founder, Touch Ceramics
Summer 2026
