MANILA, Philippines - Somewhat overlooked by many art lovers and critics was a major touring exhibit recently presented by the Japan Foundation in the Ground Floor Gallery of the Ayala Museum in Makati City.

?Japanese Contemporary Pottery: The Rising Generation from Traditional Japanese Kilns? unveiled over 70 pieces by 35 artists active in seven major traditional kiln sites in Japan. Focusing on vessels, it tried to illustrate ?how artists understand the functions of a vessel? in an attempt to capture the nature of Japanese pottery today, says the exhibition note.

Some of the artists selected for the show ?seek to further enhance traditional techniques, adding refinements in design,? while others ?strive to free themselves from tradition and create individualistic ceramic wares by pursuing completely new forms adapted to contemporary lifestyles.? As the artists are relatively young, most of their creations appeal to the young in any culture.

A few of the wares, characterized by boldness of color and form, are aburst with Pop Arty effects. There are the blue and pop bowl and triangular plates by Shibata Masamitsu; and the bowl and tea set with gold and overglaze enamel décor by Kawaguchi Jun.

Others have exquisite motifs that resemble Art Nouveau but are really traditional to Japanese folk pottery. Such are the square plates and jar with overglaze enamel akebi vine and fruit and pigeon décor by Hirose Yoshiyuki; the bluish-toned translucent glazed jar and plate with daylily and Rose of Sharon motifs by Shinno Iwao; the plates with lotus and peony motifs by Mochizuki Shu; the beveled jar with overglaze enamel magnolia décor and the faceted bowl with Gloriosa lily motif and silver décor by Toyofuku Makoto.

A few of the pieces are irregularly shaped, such as the unglazed bowls with slip décor by Misaki Mitsukuni; the white bowl of Hasegawa Junko.

Or they prominently display angular sides, such as the skewed vase with brown engobe by Yamato Tsutomu; the Bizen bowl with kiln effects by Fujiwara Kazu; the glazed vessel built of thin layers by Nagae Shigekazu.

Some are simply avant-garde, a bit grotesque yet graceful in their twisting, such as the vessel with paddled décor and the white-glazed vessel by Okumura Hiromi.

Others simply look like shards or broken pieces of porcelain, such as the boat-shaped plate and the rectangular plate with silver striped décor by Hayashi Mamiko.

A few look so natural they could have been rock fragments or river stones, such as the pounded hand-hollowed vases with engobe and with white glaze and kiln effects by Kaneta Masanao.

These pieces? tactile quality is also as varied, ranging from glassine smoothness to craggy roughness.

Says Shiraishi Masami, chief curator of the Crafts Gallery of the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo: ?Perhaps it is the distinct four seasons, the mild climate and diverse terrain that have given Japanese a special affection for utensils made from earth or clay, a basic natural material.?

Many of the pieces in the show appear to be original artworks. These are pure poetry in clay, among them ?Dreams in White? and ?The Luminous Circle? by Miwa Kazuhiko; ?Sound of the Wind? and the vessel with linear motif by Ichino Masahiko; the blue-glazed bowl and vase with linear flower and wave motifs by Miyanishi Atsushi; the bluish Shino vase and jar by Sakai Hiroshi; the iron-glazed jar by Hori Toshiro; the vase by Kawakami Tomoko; the Oribe bowl by Ito Hidehito; the foliated celadon plate by Uraguchi Masayuki; ?Bent Shape? by Nagae Shigekazu; ?Still Life? by Shibata Mariko.

Here it doesn?t seem important to know their functions. To gaze is enough.