Mr. Gien is a practitioner of the Tea Ceremony with previous training in photography and design and bring a very personal and intimate approach to the appreciation of works of art. He believes that the best approach to making a “connection” with works of art or ceramics is to handle them, one-on-one and one at a time. Very much in the way we have all had private viewings in the back office of Settsu, Maruyama and the like, a visit to Mr. Gien’s tatami floored space is the same sort of event.

I have handled some of the ceramics he has set aside for this viewing and they do have strong personal appeal. A large Five Dynasties jar and cover has an eccentric charm because the knop fired at a tilt. A delicate Yaozhou bowl is delicately molded with a water background and four fishes while another Yaozhou bowl, evenly covered with a persimmon glaze, is obviously void of decoration, but strong in its elegance of form.

They are all very personable ceramics, the most appealing to me being a Yueyao bowl and deep saucer with a delicately incised design of a fish.

— Martin Barnes Lorber