A stoneware flask with flat, almost circular sides, the shoulder and mouth with striking red, ocher, and gray flame-marks, the base marked Yasu Comes with the original paulownia-wood tomobako storage...
A stoneware flask with flat, almost circular sides, the shoulder and mouth with striking red, ocher, and gray flame-marks, the base marked Yasu
Comes with the original paulownia-wood tomobako storage box, inscribed outside Hagi ensai henko Yasuo saku (Hagi flame-colored flask, made by Yasuo) and sealed Yasuo; printed biography with concluding date of 1988; invoice dated April 28, 2000
The grandson of Yamato Sakutarō (1855–1921), a founding father of early-modern ceramics in the historic ceramic center of Hagi in western Honshu, Yamato Yasuo— one of several contemporary Hagi potters who have challenged the conventions of their home town—displays work at both avant-garde and traditional exhibitions. Here he successfully combines functionality with the boldness and freedom of contemporary ceramics to conjure a powerful sculptural form.