Colored Bizen ware flower vase

This is a Saishiki (painted) Bizen flower vase by Anjin Abe, an artist who possesses profound insight into and a refined aesthetic sense for antique pottery, creating one-of-a-kind works through his original research and firing techniques. This piece unites the profound, dense "goma" (ash glaze) created through stacking in the kiln with the infinite transformations brought about by his painting. With the paulownia motif as the central design, the painting is applied in a way that, much like an oil painting, alters its impression from moment to moment. A generous amount of yellow ash glaze coats the neck, serving as a canvas that enhances the painting of the paulownia flowers. The paulownia leaves, rendered in distinct shades of dark green and gold, seem to observe the life and death of a single leaf, and in the flowers stretching out from them, one can feel the presence of a "beauty" expressed that transcends life and death. The life cycle of birth and death, combined with a crystallization of beauty that feels like an explosion of life, is captured as a single painting on this vessel for arranging flowers—a magnificent theme characteristic of Anjin’s art. Original signed wooden box to follow (please allow some time for shipping).
Diameter 12.4cm × Diameter 12.2cm × Height 22.3cm

If you prefer to pay by credit card, please contact us as the payment will need to be processed in multiple installments. Anjin Abe was originally a Western-style painter. While he collected ceramics as a hobby, he felt that contemporary Bizen lacked something, and in 1972 he began pottery-making to create pieces that satisfied his own standards. He frequently creates mizusashi (water jars), flower vases, flat jars, bowls, sake bottles, and sake cups. All are wheel-thrown and finished with a spatula. He bases his pottery on the antique Bizen of the Momoyama period and is highly particular about his firing process. He is also involved in diverse modes of expression, presenting works that combine various materials and techniques, such as ceramics, lacquer, oil painting, and bronze (mixed media). He actively holds solo exhibitions both in Japan and internationally, in cities including Tokyo, Osaka, New York, and Paris.