Masuo Ojima (b. 1949) Japanese/American, Ceramic Decorative Art Plate. Crisp geometric shapes and stark colors ingeniously combined on the surface. Signed "Ojima" on the bottom. 

Condition: Good. 

Size: 25 1/2 x 25 1/2 x 3 in. 

#3550 . 

Masuo Ojima was born in 1949 into a family of craftsmen in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. As a child he was introduced to ceramics by his father, a cabinet maker, and grandfather, a roof tiler. Although he studied music at first in college he rediscovered ceramics and changed his major, and they became his primary artistic output for the rest of his life. He was first interested in surface design and colors, creating as many variations as possible. With time, as he gained more experience with clay and firing, his work shifted to emphasizing his personality and cultural heritage. His works are usually decorative plates, vases, and cups, and are influenced by both Eastern and Western cultures and by traditional and modern art forms. His body structures are hand thrown or hand constructed from moist clay sheets or a combination of both. After the first firing the mostly Shino glazes are applied. The pieces are then fired again for over ten hours in a reduction atmosphere, and some are even fired a third time to achieve just the right effect. In 1969 he moved to Los Angeles where he established his own studio and became heavily immersed in the California art scene, working there to this day. Among others, Ojima’s works have been exhibited at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., the International Museum of Ceramics in Faenza, Italy, the Kentucky Museum of Arts and Crafts in Louisville, and the Triton Museum of Art in Santa Clara, California.

Good.