Nommo, Unas, Nepthys, Po Tolo (Dark Companion), and Isis (Sirius) from the Star Series

While unassuming in her disposition, Toshiko Takaezu was a bonafide ceramic superstar. Takaezu created work—paintings, prints, fiber, and cast bronze in addition to her well-known ceramic pieces of varying sizes—that embodied a poetic balance between art and life and that pushed the boundaries of how clay could be used and understood. Her most expansive, and, arguably, most influential work is this grouping of 14 “human-sized” forms known as the Star Series.