Pink Lady with Rattle; Untitled (Makaha Blue); Closed Form

Toshiko Takaezu was a leading American ceramist, an esteemed teacher of the medium for decades, and one of the key figures in the midcentury transformation of ceramics from craft to fine art. Takaezu’s signature form was a rounded, bottle-like shape with an opening resembling a nipple at the top, which allowed gasses to escape during firing. She is also known for the diverse methods of glazing she employed, from brushing and dripping to pouring and dipping. In her stoneware and porcelain works, some which are small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, Takaezu used her clay “canvas” to blend the expressive bravura of Abstract Expression- ism with the peaceful, contemplative quality found in traditional Japanese pottery. She also emphasized forms suggestive of the natural world, such as acorns, melons, and tree trunks. Among Takaezu’s best-known bodies of work are the thick orbs she called “moons” and her vertical “closed forms.” In an interview, the artist acknowledged that, to her, the most exciting aspects of her prac- tice were still the “unknown intangible things that happen,” and, moreover, that those surprises made her want to see if she could make the work again—if she might, in turn, “get the perfect piece.”

From left to right: Untitled, ca. 1985; Closed Form with Rattle, ca. 1998; Closed Form, ca. 1960; Pink Lady with Rattle, 1987; Anagama Hearts, 1992; Untitled Moon, ca. 1990; Tree, ca. 1980.