Akio Takamori (1950, Japan) 

Owl
ca 1982
Porcelain; ht. 9, wd. 8, dp. 7 in.

The owl is the most revered bird in ceramic art. Its portly body and squat shape have made for an easy conversion into a vessel form. It has been explored by almost every ceramic culture from pre-Columbian pottery to early Staffordshire slipware. The "owl pot" also attracted modern artists from Jean Cocteau to Pablo Picasso. Takamori's take on the subject is uniquely his own with a distinctly sculptural approach, with the owl resting firmly on its feet and tail. A texture is cut through the slip and the painting is lively in a palette of red, yellow, mauve and black, which is then salt glazed. This work was included in the touring exhibition Between Clouds of Memory: Akio Takamori, A Mid -Career Survey organized by the Arizona State University Art Museum and Center for Ceramic Research in Tempe. It traveled to The Art Gym, Marylhurst University, Portland OR; Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA; and the Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI.

Reference: Held, Pete (ed.). Between Clouds of Memory: Akio Takamori, A Mid -Career Survey. Tempe Arizona State University, 2005, illus. p77.

Excellent original condition.