Youhen Ao Ryoukuchi

This is a new *Yohen Ao* (transmuted blue) dual-spout sake server by Takashi Baba, an artist born in Imbe who has loved Bizen ware since childhood and finds his life's joy in creating works and firing kilns. This latest piece was just taken from the kiln in October. It is a new *Yohen Ao* work that further evolves the black Bizen style using clay slip, which Master Baba specializes in, where part of the black surface has transformed into a vivid cobalt blue. Most striking is the intense cobalt blue coloration titled "Yohen Ao," but even the other black sections have reacted to the intense firing to produce a deep, jewel-like black with more luster than usual. Vivid cobalt blue appears just below one of the spouts, and when the server is filled with sake, the liquid soaks into the clay, making the cobalt blue shine even more beautifully. The "dual-spout" design, with spouts on both sides, is typical of Master Baba, whose flexible creativity never fails to captivate his fans. Wooden box to follow later
Diameter including spout 15.4cm x body diameter 9.4cm x height 9.2cm Takashi Baba was born in 1983 as the eldest son of Bizen ware artist Shosuke Baba. Thinking from a young age that he would become a ceramic artist, he chose to study sculpture in university to broaden the scope of his ceramics. After graduating from the Tokyo University of the Arts with a degree in sculpture in 2006, he entered the Kyoto Municipal Institute of Industrial Technology and Culture to hone his craft. He became independent in 2007 and held his first solo exhibition. He is currently active, primarily exhibiting in solo shows at department stores.