Yanagihara Mutsuo 柳原睦夫 Japanese, b. 1934
H36.8 × W17.2 × D14.2 cm
With signed wood box
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Yanagihara Mutsuo is a Japanese contemporary ceramic artist born in 1934. Yanagihara took the Kyoto pottery scene by storm in the 1970s and 80s, bringing inspiration of geometric abstraction, expressionism, and other Western art influences into clay and ceramics. With this striking vase, Yanagihara Mutsuo (b. 1934) melds form and pattern into a playfully graphic whole that will not soon be forgotten.
Yanagihara's artistic journey took a transformative turn when he taught art in Chicago during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Immersed in the dynamic and fast-paced American art world, he absorbed the influences of Pop Art's graphic comic book style and its vibrant, glossy color palette. Even in this piece, Yanagihara maintains his distinctive organic line, skillfully blending seemingly disparate elements. The rich, earthy brown clay surface harmonizes with the electric pop of the rubber-like yellow pattern, resulting in an outlandish and surprising visual experience that challenges the viewer with its unexpected spunk.
His work is well respected among experts, and is included in the collections of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs; The Art Institute of Chicago, The National Museum of Art, Tokyo; the National Museum of Art, Kyoto; and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Ikebana design by Eriko Nagata, EriN Design International