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Makoto Yabe
Untitled Bowl, c.1980
According to a Japanese proverb, nails that stick up are hammered down. ”Whenever I tried something new, I was hammered down,” said Mr. Yabe. ”That’s why I came to the US.” ”He really came here for artistic freedom,” said Bill Thrasher of Wellesley, an independent curator who specializes in Japanese art. ”His work had an improvisational quality that is highly desirable.” Yabe said, ”There are still things to learn, new things to explore. However, as people age, their perceptions change, and I see Japanese traditions differently now. I don’t have to fight traditions, but instead can express myself through it.” He began to incorporate elements of the Wabi-sabi, a Japanese aesthetic that embraces the imperfect. ”Wabi-sabi objects are usually kind of ugly, but when you look carefully at the details, you see beauty in the objects. It’s quite different from the Western concept of beauty; it’s asymmetrical and imperfect, because that’s more like nature.
Stoneware
Makoto Yabe’s (1947-2005) work exemplifies the artistic freedom and improvisational approach that was essentially prohibited to him in Japan, where he was a classically trained ceramicist. In order to be free to experiment and explore the boundaries of his art, Yabe left for the US where he taught and worked for the rest of his life. He was born in Fukushima, Japan and began studying ceramics in Kyoto when he was 9.
| Dimensions | 8 × 6.25 × 3.75 in |
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| Style | |
| Artist | |
| Date | c.1980 |
