Plate of Beans

Mjolk is a store in the Junction specializing in clean, minimalist furniture and accessories from Sweden and elsewhere. To highlight their stock of Japanese ceramic dinnerware from Japanese ceramicist Masanobu Ando, they are having an exhibition of his work. On Thursday night, they had a reception welcoming him to Toronto.

At first glance, his pieces share the same minimalist, modern aesthetic: clean lines and smooth white textures. But then it becomes clear than all his pieces are lop-sided or uneven. Talking through a translator, Masanobu explains that he was mostly self-taught, although he did have training in sculpture and studied pottery. He is inspired by the European sensibility but wanted to also harken back to the simple ceramic pieces of rural Japan. By sometimes eschewing tools such as the pottery wheel, he was rejecting the perfectionism of machinery. "The plate feels different each time you hold it, making it always a novel experience. This is something you can't get with a uniform piece."

I can appreciate the approach, but they still looked too "amateurish", especially given the prices. I liked the pieces, such as a matching set of 4 small dishes, that evoked some symmetry. The wares such as the tiny soup spoons that were subtly different were more my style of "non-uniformity". One item that was genuinely surprising was a small pan that resembled a roughly-made cast iron pan. But it was also made out of ceramic and coated with metallic compounds. The result was a heavy-looking pan that was actually feather light to lift.

In addition to a charcuterie spread from Easton's, I also sampled glögg, a Swedish mulled wine made from red wine, orange, cinnamon, ginger, and other spices. Masanobu prepared a meticulous tea ceremony for the owners of Mjolk. Afterward, a number of guests also had a chance to participate in additional tea ceremonies in pairs.