Some artists turn to ceramics after trying their hands at oil painting in their youth. Something more or less serendipitous in the course of their artistic development awakens them to the appeal of ceramics, and they go on to nurture their talents in that realm. Ceramic artists of that background tend to be artists who would have attained prominence even if they had never ventured beyond oil painting.

The ceramic artists widely regarded as geniuses have emerged, for the most part, through this pattern of development. We see this pattern unmistakably in Abe Anjin’s artistic journey. I would add that ceramic artists of this background exhibit an unbridled boldness in their thinking and meticulous craftsmanship in their work. Boldness and meticulousness rarely coexist, but superior artists master and assert both of those qualities.

We naturally wonder how Abe Anjin could have incorporated the contradictory qualities of boldness and meticulousness in his creative output. We find the answer easily, however, on examining his work to date. In short, Abe has been faithful to tradition and has acquired a profound grasp of the fundamentals of ceramics. In his Bizen ware, he has assimilated the aesthetics that shaped the Bizen ceramics of the Momoyama period, four centuries ago. Abe’s grasp of those aesthetics is at the core of his works. That is why the works are impeccable in their execution and utterly free of compromises.

Also compelling in Abe Anjin’s work is his positioning of the focus not on the works themselves but on a world that unfolds beyond the works. That positioning elicits a peculiar perspective. Thus do the works engender continuing interest. Thus do they keep inviting us back for another look.

Abe Anjin’s work defines the vanguard of contemporary ceramics. That is because Abe honors tradition faithfully and deploys basic forms in original ways while observing traditional norms.

No one knows, least of all the artist himself, where Abe Anjin will proceed from here. Speculation about the course of Abe’s evolving aesthetics is a source of endless fascination. Our continuing preoccupation with that subject is convincing evidence that Abe is, in fact, doing good work.