Toshiko Takaezu – Wikipedia

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American painter

Toshiko Takaezu
Born (1922-06-17)June 17, 1922
Died March 9, 2011(2011-03-09) (aged 88)
Education Honolulu Museum of Art School,
University of Hawaiʻi,
Cranbrook Academy of Art
Occupation(s) ceramist, painter, sculptor, educator
Known for pottery

Toshiko Takaezu (June 17, 1922 – March 9, 2011)[1] was an American ceramic artist, painter, sculptor, and educator who was known for her rounded, closed forms that viewed ceramics as a fine art and more than a functional vessel. She is of Japanese descent and from Pepeeko, Hawaii.

Early life and education[edit]

Takaezu was born to Japanese immigrant parents in Pepeekeo, Hawaii, on 17 June 1922.[2] She moved to Honolulu in 1940, where she worked at the Hawaii Potter’s Guild creating identical pieces from press molds.[3] While she hated creating hundreds of identical pieces, she appreciated that she could practice glazing.[4]

Takaezu attended Saturday classes at the Honolulu Museum of Art School (1947 to 1949)[5] and attended the University of Hawaiʻi (1948, and 1951)[5] where she studied under Claude Horan. From 1951 to 1954, she continued her studies at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan (1951), where she met Finnish ceramist Maija Grotell, who became her mentor.[1][6][7] Takaezu earned an award after her first year of study, which acknowledged her as an outstanding student in the clay department.[8]

In 1955, Takaezu traveled to Japan, where she studied Zen Buddhism, tea ceremony,[4] and the techniques of traditional Japanese pottery, which influenced her work.[1] While studying in Japan, she worked with Kaneshige Toyo and visited Shoji Hamada, both influential Japanese potters.[4]

She taught at several universities and art schools: Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin; Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, Ohio (10 years); Honolulu Academy of Art, Honolulu, Hawaii; and Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey (1967–1992), where she was awarded an honorary doctorate.[5][9]

She retired in 1992 to become a studio artist, living and working in the Quakertown section of Franklin Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, about 30 miles northwest of Princeton. In addition to her studio in New Jersey, she made many of her larger sculptures at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Takaezu made functional wheel-thrown vessels early in her career. Later she switched to abstract sculptures with freely applied poured and painted glazes. In the early 1970s, when she didn’t have access to a kiln, she painted on canvas.[10]

Takaezu treated life with a sense of wholesomeness and oneness with nature; everything she did was to improve and discover herself. She believed that ceramics involved self-revelation, once commenting, “In my life I see no difference between making pots, cooking and growing vegetables… there is need for me to work in clay… it gives me answers for my life.” When she developed her signature “closed form” after sealing her pots, she found her identity as an artist. The ceramic forms resembled human hearts and torsos, closed cylindrical forms, and huge spheres she called “moons.” Before closing the forms, she dropped a bead of clay wrapped in paper inside, so that the pieces would rattle when moved.

She was once asked by Chobyo Yara what the most important part of her ceramic pieces is. She replied that, it is the hollow space of air within, because it cannot be seen but is still part of the pot. She relates this to the idea that what’s inside a person is the most important.[11]

Death and legacy[edit]

Takaezu died on March 9, 2011, in Honolulu,[12] following a stroke she suffered in May 2010.[2] The Toshiko Takaezu Foundation was established in 2015 to support and promote her legacy.

Exhibitions[edit]

  • 1955: University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
  • 1959, 1961: Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
  • 1961: Peabody College for Teachers, Nashville, Tennessee
  • 1965: Gallery 100, Princeton, New Jersey
  • 1971: Lewis and Clark College, Portland, Oregon
  • 1975, 1985: Florida Junior College, Jacksonville, Florida
  • 1987: Hale Pulamamau, Kuakini Hospital, Honolulu, Hawaii
  • 1989: Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, New Jersey
  • 1989: University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport, Connecticut
  • 2006: Hunterdon Art Museum, Clinton, New Jersey[13]

She has also been in several group exhibitions throughout the United States and internationally in countries including Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Japan, and Switzerland.[5]

Honors and awards[edit]

Takaezu won many honors and awards for her work:[5]

Collections[edit]

Takaezu’s work may be found in private and corporate permanent collections, as well as several public collections across the United States:[5]

  • Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, Massachusetts
  • Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, Pennsylvania
  • Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
  • Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, Maryland
  • Bloomsburg University, Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania
  • Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio
  • Canton Museum of Art, Canton, Ohio
  • Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania[15]
  • Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio[16]
  • Currier Museum of Art, Manchester, New Hampshire
  • Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan[17]
  • Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York[18]
  • Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco, California
  • Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York
  • Harn Museum of Art, Gainesville, Florida[19]
  • Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga, Tennessee[20]
  • Hunterdon Art Museum, Clinton, New Jersey
  • Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton, New Jersey
  • Hawaii State Art Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii
  • High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia,
  • Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, Hawaii
  • Kresge Art Museum, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
  • Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California
  • Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York
  • Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin[21]
  • Museum of Arts and Design, New York, New York
  • Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts[22]
  • Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas
  • Newark Museum, Newark, New Jersey
  • New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, New Jersey
  • Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[23]
  • Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, New Jersey[24]
  • Racine Art Museum, Racine, Wisconsin
  • Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington[25][26]
  • Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.[27]
  • Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio
  • University Art Museum, Albany, New York
  • University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, Hawaii
  • University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, Michigan[28]
  • University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire
  • Zanesville Museum of Art, Zanesville, Ohio

Takaezu’s work may also be found in the National Museum in Bangkok, Thailand.[5]

  1. ^ a b c Grimes, William (March 19, 2011), “Toshiko Takaezu, Ceramic Artist, Dies at 88”, The New York Times, ISSN 0362-4331
  2. ^ a b “Renowned Hawaii Artist Toshiko Takaezu Dies”, Honolulu Civil Beat, March 10, 2011
  3. ^ “Toshiko Takaezu | Densho Encyclopedia”. encyclopedia.densho.org. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
  4. ^ a b c Saiki, Patsy (1985). Japanese women in Hawaii: the first 100 years. Honolulu, HI: Kisaku, Inc. pp. 139–142.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Heller, Jules; Heller, Nancy G., eds. (1995). North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century. New York and London: Garland Publishing. pp. 536. ISBN 0824060490.
  6. ^ Honolulu Museum of Art, Spalding House: Self-guided Tour, Sculpture Garden, pages 5 & 18
  7. ^ Marter, Joan M. (2011). The Grove Encyclopedia of American Art. Oxford University Press. p. 432. ISBN 978-0-19-533579-8.
  8. ^ Held, Peter (2011). The art of Toshiko Takaezu : in the language of silence. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 9780807878095. OCLC 715868061.
  9. ^ Duazo, Catherine (March 11, 2011), “Former visual arts professor Takaezu passes away at 88”, The Daily Princetonian
  10. ^ “Toshiko Takaezu: The Paintings”. Members’ Magazine (Honolulu Museum of Art): 8. March 2012.
  11. ^ Strickland, Carol (Oct 6, 1997). “Master of Art and the Art of Living, Everything Ceramic Artist Toshiko Takaezu does Feeds into the Process of Discovering and Creating”. The Christian Science Monitor.
  12. ^ Grimes, William (2011-03-19). “Toshiko Takaezu, Ceramic Artist, Dies at 88”. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-02-08.
  13. ^ Genocchio, Benjamin (July 23, 2006). “Art Review: Master Who Turns Mud Into Vessels of Beauty”. The New York Times.
  14. ^ “Toshiko Takaezu Receives Arts Award | Dickinson College”. archives.dickinson.edu. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
  15. ^ “CMOA Collection”. collection.cmoa.org. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  16. ^ “White Form”. 30 October 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ^ “Tea Service”. www.dia.org. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  18. ^ “Shallow Painted Bowl”.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  19. ^ “Coffee with the Curators: The Pillow Book | Harn Museum of Art”. harn.ufl.edu. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  20. ^ “Works – Toshiko Takaezu – Artists – eMuseum”. emuseum.huntermuseum.org. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  21. ^ “From the Collection—Toshiko Takaezu”. Milwaukee Art Museum Blog. 2011-04-15. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  22. ^ “Results – Advanced Search Objects – Museum of Fine Arts, Boston”. collections.mfa.org. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  23. ^ “Philadelphia Museum of Art – Collections Object : Bell”. philamuseum.org. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  24. ^ “Toshiko Takaezu | Princeton University Art Museum”. artmuseum.princeton.edu. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  25. ^ “Artist / Maker / Culture: “Toshiko Takaezu”“. Seattle Art Museum, Asian Art Museum & Olympic Sculpture Park. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  26. ^ “Here and Now: New Ceramic Acquisitions”. Seattle Art Museum, Asian Art Museum & Olympic Sculpture Park. 2012. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  27. ^ “Toshiko Takaezu | Smithsonian American Art Museum”. americanart.si.edu. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  28. ^ “Exchange: Bowl”. exchange.umma.umich.edu. Retrieved 2021-01-26.

Further reading[edit]

  • Clarke, Joan and Diane Dods, Artists/Hawaii, Honolulu, University of Hawaiʻi Press, 1996, pages 98-103.
  • Department of Education, State of Hawaii, Artists of Hawaii, Honolulu, Department of Education, State of Hawaii, 1985, pages 55–60.
  • Haar, Francis and Murray Turnbull, Artists of Hawaii, Volume Two, University of Hawaiʻi Press, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1977, pages 79–84.
  • Nemmers, Peyton, Steuber. “In Memory of Toshiko Takaezu: Artist, Mentor, Friend” Ceramic Arts and Technical, volume 87. 2012.
  • Honolulu Academy of Arts, Toshiko Takaezu, Honolulu, Hawaii, Honolulu Academy of Arts, 1993.
  • Honolulu Museum of Art, Spalding House Self-guided Tour, Sculpture Garden, 2014, pages 5 & 18
  • International Art Society of Hawai’i, Kuilima Kākou, Hawai’i-Japan Joint Exhibition, Honolulu, International Art Society of Hawai’i, 2004, page 45
  • Morse, Marcia, Legacy: Facets of Island Modernism, Honolulu, Honolulu Academy of Arts, 2001, ISBN 978-0-937426-48-7, pages 24, 82-87
  • Morse, Marcia and Allison Wong, 10 Years: The Contemporary Museum at First Hawaiian Center, The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, 2006, ISBN 1888254076, page 111
  • Takaezu, Toshiko, Portfolio in Bamboo Ridge: Journal of Hawai’i Literature and Arts, Spring, 1996, pages 26–30.
  • Takaezu, Toshiko, Toshiko Takaezu, Four decades, Montclair, New Jersey, Montclair Art Museum, 1989.
  • Woolfolk, Ann, “Toshiko Takaezu,” Princeton Alumni Weekly, Volume 83(5), 6 October 1982, pages 31–33.
  • Yake, J. Stanley, Toshiko Takaezu, The earth in bloom, Albany, New York, MEAM Pub. Co., 2005.
  • Yoshihara, Lisa A., Collective Visions, 1967-1997, Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1997, page 61.

External links[edit]