Dai Ichi Arts is delighted to announce the acquisition of Yasuhara Kimei's "Sekki" flower vase by the permanent collections of the Princeton Museum of Art.
Yasuhara Kimei (also known as Yasuhara Yoshiaki) emerged as an extraordinary talent in the realm of artistry, particularly within the domain of ceramics. His creations not only encapsulated but also transcended the profound artistic and socio-political transformations of his era in Japan. While his influence on the ceramics culture in the Japan is held in the highest esteem, his work remains under-appreciated in the west until now. We are delighted that his work will be shown in the Princeton Museum of Art, which is an institution that boasts a diverse audience from academia to connoisseurs of Japanese ceramics, offering viewers a chance to delve into the modern history of Japanese flower vessels.
Yasuhara is most recognizable for his exceptional, high-fired flower vases. He named these vases "Sekki", and they exhibit a striking matte grey-black hue, adorned with intricate inscribed designs filled with white slip. To craft these masterpieces, Yasuhara ingeniously employed a blend of red Seto and Shigaraki clays, combined with finely ground feldspar, iron oxide, and cobalt. This unique amalgamation results in the creation of a distinctive dark surface. This flower vessels shows a side of his "Sekki" creations, displaying a darker black-brown matte grey surface with white slip. The handle of this vase takes the form of a sail, hinting at his maritime influences from his sailor father during childhood. Other works of his are cooler grey in tone, but his inquiry into surface decoration, and his archaeological study of Japan's Sue ware both shine in this work.
For more information about the artist, click here.
For a translated excerpt of Yasuhara Kimei's 1954 lecture on "New Pottery Discourse", click here.
