A CERAMIC PLAQUE BY KAZUO YAGI (1918–1979)

KAZUO YAGI (1918–1979)
WATER IS...
SHŌWA ERA, 1979

A Japanese kokutō tōban (black ware porcelain plaque), of square form and stamped with the words 'WATER IS...' above a triangle, a circle and a square, signed K. Yagui underneath; in a box frame and glazed; with a fitted box and sleeve labelled with the name of the artist and of the piece; together with a deluxe limited edition of the Yagi Kazuo Collected Works published in 1979; 15.1cm x 16.3 cm. (3)

The triangle, circle and square are a common Japanese philosophical motif representing the universe. It is famously associated with the Zen monk Sengai Gibon.

Kazuo Yagi was a revolutionary Japanese ceramicist and a founding member of the avant-garde Sōdeisha group, which rejected the functional use for pottery. He is credited with transforming traditional Japanese ceramics into a medium for modern sculpture, often using flat ceramic slabs (such as this tōban) and abstract forms to express complex philosophical ideas.