Toshiko Takaezu, Heart Form (brown and black), 1980s. Stoneware, 17 x 10 ½ in. Crocker Art Museum , gift of the Artist

SACRAMENTO, CA.-Opening May 18 at the Crocker Art Museum, Echoes of the Earth: Ceramics by Toshiko Takaezu showcases the art of America's greatest living female ceramic artist. Featuring more than 50 of her signature “pots,” as Takaezu refers to them, the show highlights a gift from the artist to the Crocker’s permanent collection.
“The Crocker is proud to be the recipient of 32 works by Toshiko Takaezu,” said Lial Jones, Museum Director. “This gift represents a complete survey of this significant artist’s work joining the Museum’s ever-growing collection of international ceramics.”
Takaezu’s signature closed-mouth forms push the limits of the clay vessel beyond the realm of utility. No longer able to contain, her forms lose their utilitarian meaning and communicate as pure art. Her pieces boast diverse and exquisite finishes that include vibrant matte glazes on porcelain in addition to more subdued smoke effects on stoneware in the Japanese anagama tradition. She finds inspiration in nature and geology, both being ageless and ancient, yet her works are distinctly modern. The forms and their surfaces are visceral, like abstract expressionist paintings. Their impact is almost primordial. Lire la suite http://www.artdaily.com/section/news/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=20267