Blue Princess
2009
This slightly uneasy princess was inspired by the portraits of Velázquez, who painted the Spanish royal court in the 17th century. She is a member of the richly populated, colorful world created by renowned sculptor Akio Takamori, who died in January 2017. Japanese villagers, sleeping women, lovers, politicians, children carrying younger siblings on their backs, characters from art history, and crawling babies have all emerged from Takamori's curiosity, observation, and wit and are rendered through his unique skill in forming clay and brushing on fluid underglazes. "My interest is humanity," he once said. "That doesn't change, even over a thousand years. Everyone from a two-year-old to an old man still has love, compassion, appreciates beauty."
Stoneware painted with under-glazes (ceramic colorants)
31 x 19 x 17 in. (78.7 x 48.3 x 43.2 cm)
Howard Kottler Endowment for Ceramic Art
2010.24
Provenance: The artist; [James Harris Gallery, Seattle]
Photo: Richard Nicol Photography