Faces I and II, Fumio Sasa, Hoya Crystal

These crystal sculptures have been on my want list a long time, and I was fortunate enough to find some, separately, at a price affordable to me.

I was nervous waiting for these, wondering if they would meet my expectations. They did.
I was also nervous because I really wanted the two different sizes and wasn't sure about the measurements given when I bought them.
Fortunately, they are different and I now have the pair.

Fumio Sasa trained as an architect and was head designer at Hoya Crystal for forty years until the art glass production ceased in 2009. He guided the direction of Hoya and much of the sculptural elements of the work from Hoya bear his design traits.
He was fascinated with the play of light and dark in crystal and for him it offered infinite possibilities of creation. He brought to crystal a very architectural edge, using perspective and line in a way I have seen nowhere else. He was a master in the use of optics and refraction.

These figures demonstrate that. Loosely based on the traditional Kokeshi doll of Japan, these figures are made from a quadrant of crystal. A disc has been cut in the back for the face, and eyes cut into the face (I love the way my two faces have slightly different eyes). The point of the quadrant has been cut, and into this small flat surface horizontal lines have been cut - from the front of the figures this gives the body a striped appearance.

Simple, fantastic design, and as always with Hoya, perfectly executed.
These figures are so absorbing; they constantly catch the eye and somehow change expression. Great art.

The last photo is a scan from the Hoya Museum Collection Catalogue, October 1987.
Taller: 20.8cm Smaller: 19.5cm