Ryan Takaba: New Work
Ryan Takaba received his BFA in ceramics from the University of Hawaii and his MFA from Kent State University in 2005. Since that time he has been exhibiting and teaching nationally. He currently is Adjunct Faculty at Northwest Vista Community College.
Takaba's vase forms are engineered wonders. Made by through the combining of cast parts, his "Vase Systems" are dependent upon one another for their true purpose and function - to hold flowers and to hold water. Takaba uses the stems of the flowers within his vases not only as a visual element within his overall composition but as vehicles to move water from one vessel to another. In some instances, the flower itself becomes a cushion on which a drop of water falls from a small hole in a vase placed directly above it. As the water moves down the petals, it pools in the vessel beneath it.
Takaba's incredibly ambiguous forms reference both the human body and forms found in nature. They move natuarally between the worlds of sculpture and use, architecture and design. Beautifully and sensitively realized, Takaba's works are magical.
