IMADA YŌKO (1971-) Purity Heisei era (1989-2019), 2016Important works of art from an American private collectionIMADA YŌKO (1971-)Purity Heisei era (1989-2019), 2016The thinly potted, wheel-thrown, shaved, and carved body painted with lively strokes of gosu (cobalt blue) over a transparent white glaze, the base with an incised artist's markWood tomobako storage box inscribed Sei (Purity) and signed and sealed Yōko 7 5/8 x 13 1/2in (19.3 x 34.3cm)Trained in both Japan and England, Imada Yōko's teachers included the maverick ceramic artist Koie Ryōji from whom she clearly absorbed something of his flamboyant style of painted decoration. In a reversal of traditional practice, she brushes cobalt over a surface that has already been covered in a white transparent glaze, then fires the piece in a gas kiln.