Tashima Etsuko

Born 1959, Osaka, Japan

A graduate of Osaka University of Arts who studied under Yanagihara Mutsuo (b. 1934), TASHIMA ETSUKO is now a tenured faculty member in ceramics, one of the first women to achieve this distinction. Inspired by nature, her sculptures consist of large, colorful, biomorphic forms that incorporate a wide array of polychrome glazes, in part a reflection of her former teacher’s aesthetic. She has been exhibiting regularly since the mid-1980s. For the past decade, she has refined her palette and streamlined her forms; combining pastel-colored cast-glass elements with stoneware bodies to create elegant and dazzling flower-like “cornucopia” sculptures often exhibited in large groupings and room-sized installations.

Her work can be found in such museums as Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA; Museuo de Arte Moderno, Buenos Aires, Argentina; National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; New Taipei City Yingge Ceramics Museum, Taiwan; Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, Japan; and Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA; among many others.