"Sculpture doesn't have to answer to society or beauty," Japanese contemporary ceramic artist Takako Araki once said. Referred to by some as sacrilegious, her lifelike tattered Bible sculptures, one of which she made by silkscreening text from the Bible onto fired clay, are part of the Soaring Voices ceramic exhibition at the Crocker Art Museum in Downtown Sacramento.

The exhibition opened to the public Saturday and features a collection of more than 80 ceramic pieces by 25 female Japanese artists.

Until the 1950s, the world of ceramics in Japan has been a "man's world," exhibit organizer Maya Nishi told an audience at Sunday's gallery talk. She elaborated on how Japanese women had been disregarded and discouraged from making things. She specifically referred to female ceramic artist Kyo Tsuji, who was driven away from touching a ceramic wheel under the premise that women are impure.

It was not until after World War II, when clay and kilns became accessible and women were permitted to attend Japanese art schools, that Japanese women realized they could use the realm of ceramics to express themselves, Nishi explained. "The pioneer generation had to be strong to exhibit [their] work," Nishi said, adding that "some of the women had nothing more than a bathroom-sized studio next to their bed."

Several of the artists emerged as some of the first women to attend and graduate from Tokyo National University of Art and Music, and others have moved on to teach ceramics at various renowned universities in Japan. The collection holds the energetic, strong voice of the artists themselves, Nishi said, who vary in age from 36 to 80 years old.

Etsuko Tashima was one of the first artists to use both glass and clay in her work. Her displayed "Cornucopia" pieces earned the Japan Ceramic Society Award in 2005. Other artists use everything from clay to porcelain, wood, bone china and metal as mediums for their creations. Many of their pieces are inspired by nature, Nishi said, as well as landscapes, architectural structures, dreams and poetry.

While some pieces are traditional pots and vessels or intricately-carved plates, others take absract shapes, characterizing chimneys or pumpkins. Kyoko Tokumaru's "Germination" and "Bloom" take the form of magnified aquatic plants made out of porcelain.

"I think Soaring Voices is groundbreaking because it is an all-female show," said Jeffrey Spahn, a ceramic dealer who drove from the Bay Area to view the exhibition and attend the lecture. He described the pieces as inspiring and revolutionary, adding that Soaring Voices is an internationally acclaimed show.

The Crocker Art Museum is the first venue in the United States to host the collection after its debut in Japan. The exhibition will continue until Oct. 18; afterward, it will be shown at various venues in Florida, Texas and Hawaii.

Soaring Voices was organized by the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park, Shiga and hus-10, Inc., Tokyo. The tour was organized by International Arts & Artists, Washington, D.C.

Photos Courtesy of the Crocker Art Museum

Image 1: Shoko Koike, Shell Vessel, 1997. Stoneware, 17 1/2 x 22 13/16 x 18 5/16 in. Courtesy of International Arts & Artists. Private collection.

Image 2: Etsuko Tashima, Cornucopia 03-III, 2003. Stoneware and glass, 26 3/8 x 26 3/4 x 23 5/8 in. Courtesy of International Arts & Artists. Private collection.

Image 3: Kyo Tsuji, Large Bowl, 1983. Stoneware, unglazed, 12 3/16 x 18 1/8 x 18 1/8 in. Courtesy of International Arts & Artists. Private collection.