As noted in this column last month, Japanese ceramic art is finding a wider audience overseas. Many collectors search out the great potters of the past, such as Shoji Hamada (1894-1978) or Kanjiro Kawai (1890-1966), while more savvy collectors are looking to find out who's hot in Japan today.

One name many of these contemporary collectors will be hearing more about is Izu-based ceramic artist Takayuki Sakiyama. He'll be represented at SOFA (Sculptural Objects and Functional Art) in New York in early June. What will excite collectors is not only his groundbreaking forms and patterns, but his recent award of one of Japan's most prestigious ceramic art prizes -- the Grand Prize and also the Katsura no Miya Prize at the biennial 18th Japan Ceramic Art exhibition which runs till 24 May in Tokyo.

Sakiyama's swirling forms are so kinaesthetically captivating that the visual illusion of the sea's movement in his work almost seems to be combined with the sound of the waves. From an early age Sakiyama wanted to live and work by the ocean. "When I was in junior high school I knew I had to find a way to be an artist and live by the sea," he told The Japan Times by phone the other day. "For three years after graduating from Osaka Art University, I traveled throughout Japan looking for an inspiring ocean view to set up my studio. I found that ideal spot on the west coast of the Izu Peninsula."