Takashi Baba

Ceramic Art Career 

1983: Born as the eldest son of Bizen ware artist Shosuke Baba. 

2006: Graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts, Department of Sculpture. 

2015: Participated in The Power of Bizen exhibition at the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation's Japan House Gallery, London, UK. 

2024: Exhibited at Fuori salone in Milan, Italy. / Exhibited at POSITIONS Berlin Art Fair in Berlin, Germany.

Born as the eldest son of Bizen ware artist Shosuke Baba, Takashi Baba grew up surrounded by Bizen pottery. From a young age, he was naturally drawn to becoming a ceramic artist. He studied sculpture at university and later deepened his knowledge of glazes in Kyoto. With his unique forms and colors, he continues to create innovative ceramics. His works are designed with the concept of “functional objects,” blending art and utility seamlessly. 

He has successfully developed a new shade of blue in unglazed, high-fired Bizen ware. In recent years, he has been experimenting with applying Shino glaze to Bizen clay and firing it in a traditional Bizen noborigama (kiln). By combining different traditions, he explores new visual expressions in ceramic art.  

In Bizen City, Okayama Prefecture, Bizen ware—an unglazed, high-fired pottery—has been continuously produced for approximately 1,000 years. This is made possible by the region’s rich deposits of high-quality clay, which naturally vitrifies without the need for glaze.  

Firing Bizen ware is an exceptionally long process, lasting between 7 and 14 days—an unusually extended duration even by global standards. During this time, natural ash settles on the pieces, creating a wide variety of surface textures and effects depending on their placement within the kiln.