Hiroshi Yamano
A recipient of the coveted Rakow Award from the Corning Museum of Glass in 1990, his blown pieces combine qualities of classical Japanese vessel form and decoration within a uniquely personal idiom. A much vaunted series, “East to West”, begun while he was studying and working in America, incorporates silver leaf, electroplated and patinated copper, and a recurring fish and mountain motif – symbolizing himself as a “fish out of water”. Whatever their genesis, his delightful pieces exude confidence and purpose.
The fish is a symbol of myself. A fish has to swim its whole life to keep
living. It is his destiny, so he has to keep swimming. I was a Bohemian since my youth. I wandered around the world, across the oceans, looking for freedom. If you can believe in tomorrow and have the courage to swim against the current like a fish does, your life can be a happy one.