soaring forms by Yasutaka Baba

Every so often, an artist emerges who will rejuvenate the traditions of old with a fresh, bold zeitgeist that reflects the times in which we live in, who will push the boundaries of his or her mode of expression in innovative ways that help us to both remember, rethink, and revisit the beauty found within materials and techniques. One such artist is Yasutaka Baba (1991- ) of Hasami, Nagasaki Prefecture. If anyone follows auction records, the recent Bonhams sale during Asia Week NY in March 2023 solidified Baba’s status as one of the hottest, up-and-coming young ceramic artists in Japan, with his work that was exhibited and sold at his debut exhibition at Yufuku in 2019 achieving a price that was more than three times above its high estimate.

The eldest son of a family-run pottery in a locale renowned for porcelain production since the 1600’s, Baba does not simply repeat Hasami’s past but wishes to move it forward, to attempt a new aesthetic within porcelain that others have yet to tread, and this bravery has already garnered both respect and great expectations of what lies ahead. With bold silhouettes riddled with facades of fevered intensity, Baba’s porcelain sculptures have garnered an international following.

Entitled ‘soaring form’, Baba’s latest works are devoid of functionality, and instead, embrace a brave new vision of abstraction that call to mind the undulating forms of contemporary architecture, yet with reliefs that resemble that of civilizations past.

They are captivating, both for their sculptural beauty, as well as Baba’s immaculate sense of detail and craftsmanship, evidenced fully by the scrupulous intensity of the small building blocks of porcelain that comprise his works. After initially forming a porcelain base body from hand-building wet porcelain, Baba hand-cuts hundreds, if not thousands, of little rectangular porcelain blocks of varying sizes. Baba then attaches each piece, one by one, upon his damp clay surfaces in random fashion. After drying, the work is fired in an electric kiln for 1240 degrees Celsius for 15 hours, thus culminating in porcelain sculptures for the modern day and age.

Having debuted at A Lighthouse called Kanata in 2019 after being introduced to the gallery by Kanjiro Moriyama of Koishiwara, Baba’s ceramic journey has only just begun, and we hope you will join us on his second solo adventure this Autumn.

Wahei Aoyama, Founder

A Lighthouse called Kanata

Exhibition DM