Takako Araki (1921-2004), a native of Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture, began creating glassware around 1950. From 1956-60, she ran an art gallery in Osaka where she presented works in plaster and steel and introduced Kansai-based avant-garde artists.

In 1963, having returned to Japan from New York where she studied sculpture from 1961, Araki opened a kiln at her home in Nishinomiya. Her unique artworks of black ceramics and silk-screen printed balls garnered acclaim in the contemporary art world, and in 1979 a work in her "Bible series" won her a prize at the fifth Japan Ceramic Art Exhibition. This became a turning point in her career as a ceramist. The Bible, which has become one of her favored motifs, is symbolically used to explore themes related to the core of human existence.

This first retrospective exhibition of Takako Araki's work since her death traces Araki's artistic process and includes some 70 ceramic works; till Feb. 26.

The Museum of Ceramic Art, Hyogo; (079) 597-3961; 4 Kamidachikui, Konda-cho, Sasayama-shi; 15-min. bus ride from from Aino Station, JR Fukuchiyama Line. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. ¥600. Closed Mon., Jan. 10; open Jan. 9. www.mcart.jp.