Yamada Hikaru 山田 光 1923-2001

Born in Tokyo Japan,

The son of a Buddhist priest who later became a ceramic artist, Yamada Hikaru was born in Tokyo and raised in the ceramic center of Gifu. It was in Kyoto, however, where he received his professional training and met fellow ceramist Yagi Kazuo (1918-1979). Together, they formed the Young Pottery- maker’s Collective in 1946. Two years later with Yagi and fellow ceramists Suzuki Osamu (1926-2001), Kanō Tetsuo (1927-1998), and Matsui Yoshisuke, the group formed the avant-garde ceramic group Sōdeisha (Crawling through Mud Association). Like Yagi, Yamada initially worked on functional vessels. By the 1950s, his vessels had extremely narrow non-functional openings, and soon after he closed them entirely. Using a multiplicity of glazes and shapes, Yamada focused on perforated flat forms allowing the viewer to see through the work, creating a “borrowed landscape.” Also, an inspirational teacher at Osaka Art University, he sought to deconstruct the vessel, rendering them as two- dimensional representations.

Chiba City Museum of Art, Japan
Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY
Fukushima Prefectural Art Museum, Japan
Gifu Prefectural Museum of Art, Japan
Hiroshima Prefectural Museum of Art, Japan
The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, CA Itami City Museum of Art, Japan
Japan Foundation, Tokyo, Japan
Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, Japan
Kyoto Prefectural Library and Archives, Japan
Meguro Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Musée national de céramique, Sèvres, France
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Museum of Kyoto, Japan
Museum of Modern Art, Wakayama, Japan
Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, Japan
Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu, Japan
National Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan
National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan
National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan
Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, Gainesville, FL
Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, Japan
Takamatsu City Museum of Art, Japan
Tokoname City Board of Education, Japan
Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK