Akihiko Watanabe was born in Hirashimizu, Japan in 1959. He is widely celebrated in Japan as a master of celadon ware. He fires in a noborigama kiln in the Izu peninsula, west of Tokyo. His style of work is not only collected for the stunning quality of his celadon glazes but for the fact that he creates them in a wood fired kiln, still one of the few makers in Japan to do this. Each piece is fired in a sagger to protect them from ash coursing through the kiln during the firing. Careful placement, timings and glaze compositions learned and perfected over decades produce incredible crystal-like celadon pieces that are highly coveted by collectors all over the world.
He has been the subject of several solo shows in Japan and internationally and has work owned by several public and private collections in Japan, the UK and the US.
