Ref. No. 492
Bluish white porcelain bowl by Akira YAGI
| Origin | Japan |
|---|---|
| Period | Heisei period (1989-2019) |
| Medium | Ceramic |
| Dimensions |
Height15.4 cm / 6 1⁄16 in
Width32.5 cm / 12 51⁄64 in
|
| Tomobako | Included |
| Condition | Excellent |
Exhibition
- Selected Public Collections: Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; Ackland Museum, Chapel Hill, NC; British Museum, London, UK; Brooklyn Museum, NY; Cleveland Museum of Art, OH; Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA; Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY; Honolulu Museum of Art, HI; Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, Japan; Japan Foundation, Tokyo, Japan; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; Minneapolis Institute of Art, MN; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA; National Museum of Asian Art, Washington, D.C.; National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan; Portland Art Museum, OR; Saint Louis Art Museum, MO; Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK.
Short Description
A masterful example of contemporary Japanese porcelain, this elegant bowl by Yagi Akira features a soft bluish-white glaze that highlights the refined form and subtle curvature of the piece. It is marked on the side and accompanied by its tomobako, a hand-signed wooden box affirming its authenticity. Yagi Akira is renowned for blending traditional porcelain techniques with modern aesthetics, achieving a harmonious balance of simplicity, serenity, and technical precision. The serene bluish-white tone exemplifies his mastery of glaze control, while the graceful proportions reveal a deep understanding of form and function, making this bowl both a functional vessel and a work of art.
Yagi Akira is a third-generation ceramic artist from Kyoto, emerging from a family celebrated both for its disciplined craft and avant-garde vision. After graduating from the Kyoto Prefectural Ceramics Institute in 1977, he worked alongside his father, Yagi Kazuo (1918–1979), a leading figure in avant-garde ceramics, before forging his own path. Yagi Akira is renowned for exploring structural challenges through series and sets of vessels, where the space between and around each piece is as integral as the objects themselves. His nested bowls, graduated covered boxes, and fluted vessels showcase meticulous planning and technical precision. Drawing inspiration from Chinese aesthetics, he specializes in delicate bluish-white seihakuji glazes and deep black iron glazes.