Morino Hiroaki Taimei  森野 泰明

Morino Hiroaki Taimei was born in Kyoto in 1934, the son of renowned ceramicist Morino Kako. He graduated from Kyoto Art University in 1960 and taught at the University of Chicago from 1962 to 1968. Morino Taimei is considered a designer of the highest level because of his ability to create elegant and bold forms in both large sculptural works and of smaller work such as vases and bowls and which are both functional and works of art in themselves.  All of his work is characterized by abstract and geometric motifs applied to the surface in subdued colors by brush or in a controlled drip technique. It reflects his background in Kyoto and the influences of Pop Art and Abstract Expressionism that he acquired in the United States in the 1960s. Morino Taimei has participated in hundreds of exhibitions around the world and all major museums have acquired his work, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. In 2021, he received the prestigious award of Person of Cultural Merit (文化功労者, bunka kōrōsha)

Sōheki jōmon henko (Blue Sea Vase), 1989/91, Portland Mueum