ARTWORK
“You are not an artist simply because you paint or sculpt or make pots that cannot be used. An artist is a poet in his or her own medium. And when an artist produces a good piece, that work has mystery, an unsaid quality; it contains a spirit and is alive. There’s a nebulous feeling in the piece that cannot be pinpointed in words. That to me is good work!”
Toshiko Takaezu
Ceramic
Wheel-Thrown Closed Forms
Toshiko throwing a closed form at the Penland School of Crafts, North Carolina. Photo credit: Evon Streetman
“Toshiko Takaezu’s personal sculptural vision was shaped by the vessel tradition out of which it grew. Her earliest pieces are utilitarian ware – bulbous teapots and bottle vases – but these gradually metamorphosed into more eccentric shapes, multi-chambered and multi-spouted vessels in which expressive, sculptural qualities outweigh any potential for practical use. Through a continuous reductive process of experimentation involving refining and simplification of contours, surfaces and proportions, Takaezu arrived at the form which has become distinctly, unmistakable her own expression – a rounded, “closed form” with a vestigial neck and small ductlike opening in the top to allow interior gases to escape during firing.
In these works, the basic concept of the vessel is not violated, but the idea of implied/denied function is maximized, as the vessel has become simply a container of invisible space, with the eye forbidden access to the form’s interior. The duality of convex and concave spatial relationships offered in most utilitarian vessels is withheld and a unity is offered in its stead. The eye is confined to the surface of the form, to seeing and tracing its contour, compelled to move up and through the form until its compressed energy is released into space at the point where the tip of the nipplelike mouth touches the air. In this sturdy, simple design all the formal elements – line, volume, mass, implied space – come together in a rigorous unifying structure that contains subtlety, elegance, and sophistication.”
JAMES JENSEN
Curator of Contemporary Art, Honolulu Museum of Art
Toshiko Takaezu Retrospective, The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan, 1995.
Date : 1980s
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Height - 7 inches x Diameter - 5 inches (18 x 12.5 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Image credit : Nicholas Newcomb
Date : ca 1980s
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Height - 19 1/8 inches x Diameter - 8 3/8 inches (irregular) (48.5 x 21.2 cm)
Collection : Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C., Gift of the Artist (2006.26.6)
Artwork Link : Untitled - Smithsonian American Art Museum
Date : 1980/1989
Medium : Anagama-fired Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 18 1/2 inches x Diameter - 8 inches (47 x 20.3 cm)
Collection : Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, Gift of Toshiko Takaezu (2006.252)
Artwork Link : Untitled - Art institute of Chicago
Date : 1988
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Left : 9” x 4.5” - Middle : 9.5” x 5” - Right : 15” x 6.5”
Collection : Private Collection
Photo Credit : Christopher Gardner
Date : 1980s
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Height - 16 1/2 inches x Diameter 8 inches (40.64 x 20 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Date : c. 1995
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 61 inches x Diameter - 29 1/2 inches (154.9 x 74.9 cm)
Collection : Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI, Gift of Toshiko Takaezu, 2005 (13529.1)
Museum Link : Honolulu Museum of Art
Date, 1990s
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 23 1/2 inches x Diameter - 10 1/2 inches (59.7 x 26.7 cm)
Collection : Boston Museum of Fine Arts, MA, Gift of the Artist (2007.610)
Artwork Link : Closed Form - Boston Museum of Fine Arts
Date : 1970/1979
Medium : Salt-fired Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 10 inches x Diameter - 9 1/2 inches (25.4 × 24.1 cm)
Collection : Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, Gift of the Artist (2006.250)
Artwork Link : Untitled - Art Institute of Chicago
Date : 2000
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Height - 37 inches x Diameter - 15 inches (94 x 38 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Photo credit : Mario Gallucci
Date : 1990-1999
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Height - 19 inches x Diameter - 9 inches (48.3 x 22.9 cm)
Collection : Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA, Gift of the Artist (2007-68-5)
Artwork Link : Ocean’s Edge (#5) - Philadelphia Museum of Art
Date : 1980s
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 6 1/4 inches x Diameter 5 inches (15.9 x 12.7 cm)
Collection : Chazen Museum of Art, Madison, WI, Gift of the Artist (2007.19.17)
Artwork Link : Untitled - Chazen Museum of Art
Date : 1998
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Left : 4” x 3.5” - Middle : 7.5” x 5” - Right : 4.5” x 6”
Collection : Private Collection
Photo credit: Christopher Gardner
Date : ca 1980s
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Height - 25 3/8 inches x Diameter - 13 5/8 inches (irregular) (64.4 x 34.7 cm)
Collection : Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C., Gift of the Artist (2006.26.4)
Artwork Link : Untitled - Smithsonian American Art Museum
Date : 1990
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 45 inches x Diameter - 15 inches (114 x 38 cm)
Collection : Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, Kansas, Gift of Dean E. Thompson, Overland Park, Kansas.
Photo credit : EG Schempf
Artwork Link : Form No. 15 - Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art
Date : 1980s
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Height - 5 5/8 inches x Diameter - 9 3/8 inches (14.3 x 23.5 cm)
Collection : The Trout Gallery of Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA, Gift of Barry and Irene Fisher (1990.7)
Artwork Link : Pot - Trout Gallery of Dickinson College
Date : 1985
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : approx. H - 18” x D - 8”
Collection : The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan
Artwork Link : Green Rain - National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan
Date : 1983
Medium : Anagama-fired Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 11 inches x Diameter - 9 inches
Collection : Location unknown
Photo Credit: Nicholas Newcomb
Date : 1990s
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Overall: 22 x 10 x 10 in. (55.9 x 25.4 x 25.4 cm)
Collection : Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI, Gift of The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, 2011, and gift of the Artist (TCM.2007.5.24)
Museum Link : Honolulu Museum of Art
Date : 2000
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height : 18 inches x Diameter - 8 inches (45.7 x 20.3 cm)
Collection : Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA, Gift of the Artist (2007.10.12)
Museum Link : Crocker Art Museum
Date : 2000s
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 30 1/2 inches x Diameter - 12 inches (77 x 30.5 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Date : 1994-1995
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height: 57 in. (144.78 cm); Diameter: 28 in. (71.12 cm)
Collection : Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA, Gift of Karen Johnson Boyd (AC1999.213.1)
Photo Credit : Museum Associates/LACMA
Artwork Link : Homage to Ko’olau Range - Los Angeles County Museum of Art
LEFT TO RIGHT -
Euphrosyne (Joy) - Date : 2000 - Medium : Glazed Stoneware - Dimensions : 58”H x 19.5” D -Collection : Private Collection - Photo Credit : Perimeter Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
Alglaia (Beauty) - Date : 2000 - Medium : Glazed Stoneware - Dimensions : 57.5”H x 19”D - Collection: Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA - Photo credit : Perimeter Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
Thalia (Charm) - Date : 2000 - Medium : Glazed Stoneware - Dimensions : 58”H x 20”D - Collection : Private Collection - Photo Credit : Perimeter Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
Eurynome (The Oceanid) - Date : 2000 - Medium : Glazed Stoneware - Dimensions : 57.5”H x 20”D - Collection : Private Collection - Photo Credit : Perimeter Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
Date : 2000
Medium : Anagama-fired Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 21 1/2 inches x Diameter - 12 inches (55 x 30.5 cm)
Collection : Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA, Gift of the Artist (2007.10.8)
Museum Link : Crocker Art Museum
Date : 1984
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Right : 16 3/4 × 8 inches (42.5 × 20.3 cm) Left : 13 1/2 × 8 1/2 inches (34.3 × 21.6 cm)
Collection : Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA, (1984-103-1)( 1984-103-2)
Purchased with funds contributed by The Women’s Committee and the Craft Show Committee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Artwork Link : Mauve Form- Philadelphia Museum of Art
Date : 1980s
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : approx. H 10-7 “ x D 7-5”
Collection : Private Collection
Photo Credit : Nicholas Newcomb
Moons
Takaezu with her Moons : Photo Credit by Hiro
“While Takaezu continued to explore the rounded closed form throughout her career, she gradually introduced several new sculptural forms, each of which can be seen as an outgrowth of her sculptural image. Among the earliest of these are the “Moons”, stoneware spheres up to two feet in diameter which she sometimes also titles or refers to using the Hawaiian word for moon, “mahina”. In these works the rounded, closed form has metamorphosed, the tiny nipplelike spout disappearing so that the clay becomes one smooth, continuous membrane (although an unobtrusive flat hole is created on the underside of each piece, again permit expanding gases to escape in firing). On the moon’s uninterrupted surfaces, Takaezu gives free rein to her expressionistic glazing. Employing a range of gestures of varying length, direction and intensity, the artist creates calligraphic marking that drift delicately across the curves of the form in one section and becomes denser and more agitated in another. By quickly changing the position of the sphere as she applies glazes, Takaezu can make her strokes shift so that after firing they seem to defy gravity and struggle against the viscosity of their layering. Self-contained, these orbs are like miniature universes, with their storms of color encapsulating the emotional climate of the artist’s vision at any one moment in time”.
JAMES JENSEN
Curator of Contemporary Art, Honolulu Museum of Art
Toshiko Takaezu Retrospective, The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan, 1995.
Date : 1989
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 26 inches x Diameter : 25 inches (66 x 63.5 cm)
Collection : Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI, Gift of the Artist and Karen Johnson Boyd in Honor of Samuel Curtis Johnson
Photo credit : Michael Tropea, Chicago, Illinois
Museum Link : Racine Art Museum
Date : 1980s
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 25 inches x Diameter 25 inches (63.5 x 63.5 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Photo credit : Nicholas Newcomb
Date: 1990s
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Diameter: 69.5 cm (27 3/8 in.); Overall: 69.9 cm (27 1/2 in.)
Collection : Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, Gift of the Artist (2005.190)
Artwork Link : Alchemy Gold Moon - Cleveland Museum of Art
Date : 20th Century
Medium : Stoneware with glazes
Dimensions : 20 1/4 x 22 x 22 inches (51.44 x 55.88 x 55.88 cm)
Collection : Cantor Arts Center of Stanford University, Given in honor of Professor Rush Rehm by the artist
Artwork Link : #2 - Cantor Arts Center of Stanford University
Date : 2000s
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Height - 24 inches x Diameter 23 inches (61 x 58 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Photo credit : Maxwell Mustardo
Date : 1970s
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 11 inches x Diameter - 11 inches (28 x 28 cm)
Collection : Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA, Gift of the Artist (2007.10.15)
Museum Link : Crocker Art Museum
Date : c. 1980s
Medium : Glazed stoneware
Dimensions : Overall: 29 x 29 x 29 inches (73.7 x 73.7 x 73.7 cm)
Collection : Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI, Gift of The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, 2011, and gift of the Artist (TCM.2007.5.23)
Museum Link : Honolulu Museum of Art
Date : c. 1995
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : 21 x 20 1/2 x 21 1/2 inches (53.3 x 52.1 x 54.6 cm)
Collection : Museum of Arts and Design, New York, NY, Gift of the Artist (2007.4.3)
Photo Credit : Ed Watkins, 2008
Artwork Link : Mist #2 - Museum of Arts and Design
Date : 1978
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 27 3/4 inches x 29 1/2 inches (70.5 x 74.9 cm.)
Collection: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C., Museum purchase and gift of the James Renwick Alliance (1989.36.2)
Artwork Link : Full Moon - Smithsonian American Art Museum
Date : 2003
Medium : Glazed stoneware
Dimensions : Diameter - 22 inches (55.9 cm)
Collection : Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA, Purchased with funds contributed by The Women's Committee and the Craft Show Committee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Mrs. Morris Stroud, 2004 (2004-93-1)
Photo credit: Graydon Wood
Artwork Link - Eclipse - Philadelphia Museum of Art
Date : 1990s
Medium : Stoneware
Dimensions : Diameter: 57.8 cm (22 3/4 in.); Overall: 52.1 cm (20 1/2 in.)
Collection : Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, Gift of the Artist (2005.191)
Artwork Link : Black Moon - Cleveland Museum of Art
Date : 1990s
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 26 5/16 inches x Diameter - 27 13/16 inches (66.8 x 70.7 cm)
Collection : Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, NJ, Gift of the Artist (2008-7)
Artwork Link : Dark Moon - Princeton University Art Museum
Date : 1980s
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 16 inches x Diameter - 14 inches (40.5 x 35.5 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Photo credit : Maxwell Mustardo
Date : 1990
Medium : Hand-built Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Height - 25 inches x Diameter 22 inches (63.5 x 55.8 cm)
Collection : Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, PA, Gift of Toshiko Takaezu (2006.033.009)
Artwork Link : Moon - Allentown Art Museum
Date : 2006
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : 22 x 22 x 22 inches (56 x 56 x 56 cm)
Collection : Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, DE, Gift of the Artist (2009-88)
Artwork Link : Untitled (Moon Pot) - Delaware Art Museum
Date : 1993
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 21 inches x Diameter - 21 inches (53.3 x 53.3 cm)
Collection : ASU Art Museum, Tempe, AZ, Purchased with funds provided by Sara and David Lieberman (2000.047.000)
Museum Link : ASU Art Museum
Date : 1990
Medium : Glazed stoneware and found hammocks
Dimensions : Each globe 29 inches diameter (73.66 cm)
Collection : Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI, Gift of the Artist
Photo credit : Michael Tropea, Chicago
Museum Link : Racine Art Museum
Star Series
Takaezu walking amongst the Star Series. Photo credit : Tom Grotta, 1998
“Toshiko Takaezu viewed the Star Series as the magnum opus of her career. This 14-piece installation, created in 1999 and 2000 when the artist was in her late 70s, incorporates human-scale pieces that range from 46 inches to 68 inches in height. Takaezu sought to create a work the viewer could walk around and within, providing an immersive experience while also enabling one to fully contemplate each of the component pieces in the round.
Ultimately a synthesis of painting and sculpture, this is the largest work the artist produced. The scale of the closed forms gave her the opportunity to create substantial glaze paintings on surfaces that come energetically alive with poured and brushed color, recalling both Asian calligraphy and Abstract Expressionism. The Star Series also demonstrates Takaezu’s personal interest in nature and the forces it exerts on this planet as her imagery suggests the effects of a wide range of natural sources such as volcanic activity, waves on the shore, and the night sky.
Each sculpture that makes up the larger ensemble is named after a particular star or star-like object that comes from Egyptian mythology or the Dogon People of Mali in West Africa. […]
While designed to be installed as a group, Takaezu also planned for the individual sculptures that make up the installation to be exhibited in smaller, odd-numbered groupings that emphasize the importance of each individual work. This is similar to how we see the heavens as a single entity, while also focusing on individual stars when we look above.”
BRUCE W. PEPICH
Executive Director and Curator of Collections, Racine Art Museum, Racine, Wisconsin
To see a video of the first opening of the full Star Series (2006) at the Racine Art Musuem CLICK HERE
Date : 1999 – 2000
Medium : Glazed stoneware
Dimensions : Variable sizes
Collection : Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI, Gift of the Artist
Photo credit : Michael Tropea, Chicago
Museum Link : Racine Art Museum
Date : 1999-2000
Medium : Glazed stoneware
Dimensions : Height 63 1/2 inches x Diameter 25 inches (161 x 64 cm)
Collection : Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI, Gift of the Artist
Photo credit : Michael Tropea, Chicago
Museum Link : Racine Art Museum
Date : 1999 – 2000
Medium : Glazed stoneware
Dimensions : Height 68 inches x Diameter 29 inches (172.72 x 73.66 cm)
Collection : Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI, Gift of the Artist
Photo credit : Michael Tropea, Chicago
Museum Link : Racine Art Museum
Date : 1999-2000
Medium : Glazed stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 66 inches x Diameter - 30 inches (167 x 76 cm)
Collection : Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI, Gift of the Artist
Photo credit : Michael Tropea, Chicago
Museum Link : Racine Art Museum
Date : 1999-2000
Medium : Glazed stoneware
Dimensions : Canopus : 64 H x 22 1/4 inches D (163 x 56.5 cm), Nefertum : 55 1/4 H x 19 inches D (140 x 48 cm)
Collection : Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI, Gift of the Artist
Photo credit : Michael Tropea, Chicago
Museum Link : Racine Art Museum
Date : 1999 – 2000
Medium : Glazed stoneware
Dimensions : 65 1/2 H x 26 inches D (166 x 66 cm)
Collection : Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI, Gift of the Artist
Photo credit : Michael Tropea, Chicago
Museum Link : Racine Art Museum
Date : 1999-2000
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 47 inches x Diameter 27 inches (119 x 69 cm)
Collection : Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI, Gift of the Artist
Photo credit : Michael Tropea, Chicago
Museum Link : Racine Art Museum
Hand-Built Closed Forms
Takaezu‘s hand-built closed sculptural forms were made using a variety of techniques including coil and slab construction and utilizing molds. She would often paddle the form to shape it and to ensure its structural integrity. Hand building freed Takaezu from the constraints of the wheel allowing her to investigate varied sculptural forms. The large organic works were another way for her to experiment with glaze, color, texture, and gestural mark making over many years of her practice.
Takaezu working in her studio on a hand-built piece
Photo credit: Ceramics Monthly
Takaezu paddling the top of a hand-built form. Photo Credit : Ben Eberle, 2003
Date : 1990
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 46 inches x Diameter - 31 inches (116.8 x 78.7 cm)
Collection : Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA, Purchased with funds contributed by The Women’s Committee and the Craft Show Committee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1992 (1992-109-3)
Artwork Link : Mongolia -Philadelphia Museum of Art
Date : 1990
Medium : Glazed stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 42 1/2 inches × Diameter : 22 inches (91.4 × 55.9 cm)
Collection: The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, Gift of the Artist (2006.240)
Artwork Link : Dancing Brush - The Art Institute of Chicago
Date : 1990s
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 61 3/8 inches x Diameter - 26 7/8 inches (155.9 x 68.3 cm)
Collection : Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, Gift of the Artist (2005.189)
Artwork Link : Alchemy Gold - Cleveland Museum of Art
Date : 1987
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 28 inches x Diameter - 22.5 inches (71 x 57 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Photo Credit: First image : Nicholas Newcomb, Remaining images : Christopher Gardner
Date : 2002
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : 16 x 10.5”
Collection : Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, Kansas.
Photo credit : EG Schempf
Museum Link : Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art
Date :1980
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 28 inches x Diameter - 23 inches (71 x 58.5 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Photo credit: Maxwell Mustardo
Date : 1980s
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 17 inches x Diameter - 10 1/2 inches (43 x 26.5 cm)
Collection : Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA, Gift of the Artist (2007.10.26)
Museum Link : Crocker Art Museum
Date : 1990
Medium : Glazed stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 56 inches x Diameter - 31 inches (142.2 × 78.7 cm)
Collection : Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, Gift of Lenore Tawney (1996.671)
Artwork Link : Skidmore - Art Institute of Chicago
Date : 1980s
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 30 inches x Width - 26 inches x Depth - 20 inches (76 x 66 x 51 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Date : 1987
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 29 1/2H x 23W x 21 D inches (74.93 x 58.42 x 53.34 cm)
Collection : Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT, Edna Sloan Beron Collection, Gift of Elissa Beron Arons, M.D. 1970, and Daniel Arons, B.A. 1963, M.D. 1967 (2013.136.1)
Artwork Link : Green Rain - Yale University Art Gallery
Date : 2000s
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Left - 16”H x 10”D - Right - 15.5”H x 10”D (40 x 25 cm)
Collection : Private collections
Photo credit: Top - Perimeter Gallery, Chicago, IL, Bottom - Christopher Gardner
Date : 1980
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 33 1/8 inches x Diameter - 21 3/4 inches (84.2 x 55.3 cm)
Collection : Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, NJ, Gift of the artist (2008-16)
Artwork Link : Sunrise Egg : Princeton University Art Museum
Date : 1990s
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 15 1/2 inches x Diameter - 11 inches (39.4 x 28 cm)
Collection : Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA, Gift of the Artist (2007.10.4)
Museum Link : Crocker Art Museum
Date : 1988
Medium : Hand-built Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : 34.5”H x 25.5”W x 18.5”D (87.6 x 64.8 x 47 cm)
Collection : Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI, Gift of The Contemporary Museum, 2011, & Gift of Maija Russell out of the Estate of Amy Russell (TCM.2009.5.2)
Museum Link : Honolulu Museum of Art
Date : 1980s
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 36 inches x Diameter - 23 inches (91.4 x 58.4 cm)
Collection : Boston Museum of Fine Arts, MA, Gift of the Artist (2007.608)
Artwork Link : Spring Kahua - Boston Museum of Fine Arts
Date : 1990s
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 21 inches x Diameter - 14 inches (53.3 x 35.6 cm)
Collection : Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI, Gift of Toshiko Takaezu, 2005 (13532.1)
Museum Link : Honolulu Museum of Art
Date : 1980s
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 17 inches x Diameter - 11 inches (43 x 28 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Photo credit : Nicholas Newcomb
Early Work
Three early works on display at the Takaezu Studio Gallery
Like most ceramic artists in the early 1950’s, Takaezu made a variety of utilitarian work including plates, bowls, bottle vases, tea pots. During her time at Cranbrook Academy and in Cleveland, she not only perfected her technique, but discovered "who she was", establishing her own unique artistic identity. She began transforming her functional ware into experimental shapes, multi-lobed, multi-spouted vessels. These vessels eventually were reduced to their essence, becoming increasingly expressive and more sculptural. This period of exploration ultimately lead to her signature “closed form.”
Takaezu said:
"I have disciplined myself in many ways in order to achieve my ideas. What is most important is to keep on working - you can't wait for inspiration because it may never come. Inspiration most often comes when I begin to work."
"After many years, a natural form arrived, one in which I enjoy and also one on which I could paint. I didn't want a flat surface to work on, but a three-dimensional one. "
"I was able successfully to merge the glaze as painting to the form, so that the two - painting and form - became one total and complete piece. In some ways this form and the painting on it have returned me to sculpture and painting on canvas. "
Date : 1952
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Height - 1 7/8 inches x Diameter - 4 5/8 inches (4.8 x 11.7 cm)
Collection : Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C., Gift of the artist (2006.26.10)
Artwork Link : Cranbrook Small Turquoise Bowl - Smithsonian American Art Museum
Date : c. 1950s
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 3 inches x Diameter - 7 3/4 inches (7.7 x 19.6 cm)
Collection : Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C., Gift of the Artist (2007.45.5)
Artwork Link : Wax Resist Design - Smithsonian American Art Museum
Date : 1950s
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Height - 1 inch x Diameter - 6 inches (2.5 x 16.5 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Photo credit : Christopher Gardner
Date : 1952
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Height - 7/8 inch x Diameter - 5 5/8 inches (2.2 x 14.3 cm)
Collection: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C., Gift of the Artist (2006.26.9)
Artwork Link : Cranbrook Copper Red with Black - Smithsonian American Art Museum
Date : 1950s
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Height - 6 inches x Diameter - 9 inches (15.25 x 23 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Date : 1952-54
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Height - 7.5 inches x Diameter : 14 inches (19 x 35.5 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Photo credit : Christopher Gardner
Date : ca. 1950s
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 8 1/2 inches x Diameter - 9 inches (21.6 x 22.9 cm)
Collection : Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA, Gift of the Artist (2007.10.28)
Museum Link : Crocker Art Museum
Date : 1958
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 12 13/16 inches x Width - 15 inches (32.5 x 38.1 cm)
Collection : Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, Gift of the Womens Council of the Cleveland Museum of Art in honor of William Mathewson Milliken (1958.282)
Artwork Link : Multiple Spouted Bottle -Cleveland Museum of Art
Date : 1950’s
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 7 inches x Width - 8 3/8 inches (17.8 x 21 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Photo credit: Toshiko Takaezu Archives
Date : 1970
Medium : Glazed stoneware
Dimensions : 34" x 13.5" x 15.5"
Collection : Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI, Purchase, 1973 (4117.1)
Museum Link : Honolulu Museum of Art
Date : 1960s
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Height - 8 inches x Diameter - 4.5 inches (20.3 x 11.4 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Photo Credit : Christopher Gardner
Date : 1957
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 14.5 inches x Width - 10 inches x Depth - 7 inches (36.8 x 25.4 x 17.8 cm)
Collection : Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI, Gift of the Artist
Photo credit : Toshiko Takaezu Archives
Museum Link : Honolulu Museum of Art
Date : 1960
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 6 inches (15.25 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Photo credit : Brian Oglesbee
Date : 1960s
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Height - 2 inches x Diameter - 14 inches (5 x 35.5 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Photo credit : Christopher Gardner
Date : 1964
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 1 3/4 inches x Diameter - 16 1/2 inches (4.4 x 41.9 cm)
Collection : Museum of Arts and Design, New York, NY, Gift of the artist, through the American Craft Council (1964.1)
Artwork Link : Platter - Museum of Arts and Design
Date : 1957
Medium : Stoneware; hand-built, glazed
Dimensions : 28 1/8H x 8 1/4W x 10 1/2 in.D (71.4 x 21 x 26.7 cm)
Collection : Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI, Gift of Edward A. Stasack, 1988 (5715.1)
Museum Link : Honolulu Museum of Art
Date : 1950s
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 8.5 inches x Width - 16 inches (21.5 x 40.5 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Photo credit : Brian Oglesbee
Date : 1957
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 9 inches x Diameter - 7 inches (23 x 18 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Photo Credit: Brian Oglesbee
Date : 1958
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Height - 8.25 inches x Diameter - 6.25 inches (21 x 15.9 cm)
Collection : location unknown
Photo credit : Toshiko Takaezu Archives
Date : 1960s
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Height - 9 inches x Diameter - 4.5 inches (22.9 x 11.4 cm)
Collection : Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, Gift of the Artist (2007.622)
Artwork Link - Bottle Form - Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Date : 1960
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Diameter: 16.9 cm (6 5/8 in.); Diameter of mouth: 3 cm (1 3/16 in.); Overall: 15.3 cm (6 in.)
Collection : Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, Gift of the Ohio Northern Chapter of the American Institute of Decorators (1960.68)
Artwork Link : Bottle - Cleveland Museum of Art
Date : 1960s
Medium: Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Height- 7 inches x Diameter - 6 inches (17.8 x 15 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Photo credit : Nicholas Newcomb
Dates : 1960s
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Various from 14 -24 Inches (35.5 - 61 cm)
Collections : unknown
Photo credit : Toshiko Takaezu Archives
painting
Takaezu at her exhibition “Toshiko Takaezu : Ceramics, Weaving, Painting” Hunterdon Art Center (now Hunterdon Art Museum) 1973, Cinton NJ. Photographer unknown. Toshiko Takaezu Archives
While Hawaii-born artist Toshiko Takaezu is internationally known for her ceramic works, for a brief period of time in the early 1970’s, when she didn’t have regular access to a kiln for firing clay, she occupied herself making paintings on canvas. This aspect of her work is little known among collectors and scholars.
Takaezu developed a highly personal and expressive approach to glazing her ceramic works. Generally this was a private and solitary process, intuitive, with quick bold gestures of glaze painted on the forms. Takaezu’s works have been likened to abstract expressionist paintings on clay. Not surprisingly, her interests in painting on canvas were similar, although it allowed her to paint on large, flat, rectangular or square surfaces rather than the curved contours of clay forms. The larger area for painting also allowed her to experiment with broad swathes of colors to a greater extent than in her ceramics. Painting with mixed acrylic pigments also allowed her to see immediately what was happening and react, change, add accordingly, whereas in glazing ceramics, the true colors only appear after firing.
Takaezu often liked the “surprise” of opening a kiln and seeing what her efforts yielded and the “gifts” of the firing process – unexpected colors or textures. With painting on canvas, Takaezu could experience greater control of the expressive, creative process. Nevertheless, in 1974, when Takaezu once again had a kiln, she stopped painting on canvas and returned to making only ceramics.”
JAMES JENSEN
Curator of Contemporary Art, Honolulu Museum of Art
Excerpt from: “Toshiko Takaezu: The Paintings”, Nov.3, 2011 - April1,2012, Honolulu Museum of Art at Chanel Waikiki
Date : 1973
Medium : Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions : Height - 47 15/16 inches x Width - 35 7/8 inches (121.5 x 91 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Photo credit : Courtesy of the Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI
Date : 1972
Medium : Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions : Height - 36 inches x Width - 48 inches (91.5 x 122 cm)
Collection : Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI, Gift of The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu. 2011, and gift of the Honolulu Advertiser Collection at Persis Corporation (TCM.1983.343)
Photo credit : Courtesy of the Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI
Museum Link : Honolulu Museum of Art
Date : 1971-1973
Medium : Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions : Height - 35 inches x Width 35 inches (89 x 89 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Date : 1971-1973
Medium : Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions : Height - 36 inches x Width - 46 inches
Collection : Private Collection
Date : 1972
Medium : Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions : Height - 35 1/4 inches x Width - 35 1/4 inches (89.5 x 89.5 cm)
Collection : Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI, Gift of The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, 2011, and gift of the Honolulu Advertiser Collection at Persis Corporation (TCM.1983.5.309)
Photo credit : Courtesy of the Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI
Museum Link : Honolulu Museum of Art
Date : 1971-1973
Medium : Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions : Height - 34 1/16 inches x Width - 33 7/8 inches (87 x 86 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Photo credit : Courtesy of the Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI
Date : 1969
Medium : Acrylic on Canvas
Dimensions : 35 1/4 x 35 1/4 inches (89.5cm)
Collection : Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and Arts, on loan to the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Library, Honolulu, HI
Artwork Link : Lava II - Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and Arts
Date : 1972
Medium : Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions : Height - 35 1/2 inches x Width - 35 1/2 inches (90 x 90 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Photo credit : Courtesy of the Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI
Weaving
Takaezu and Edie Carpenter examining Haleakala at “Toshiko Takaezu : The Art of Clay” at the GreenHill Center for North Carolina Art, Greensboro, NC, 2005. Photo credit : Mario Gallucci
Takaezu’s interest in the creative potential of fiber started at Cranbrook Academy where she studied weaving with Marianne Strengell. She was drawn to the texture of fiber and richness of color -deep blues, purples, browns, blacks, yellows, to create large fiber weavings. The color palette that she developed in these weavings would later inform her striking abstract expressionist and color field glazing of her clay works.
Date : Late 1960’s
Medium : Wool, cotton, linen, silk, and rayon (plain weave, knotted pile, wrapping)
Dimensions : Height - 108 inches x Width - 45 inches (274 x 114)
Collection : Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI, Gift of Miriam Takaezu (12473.1)
Museum Link : Honolulu Museum of Art
Date : 1963
Medium : Persian wool, homespun Mexican wool, silk, linen, cotton, rayon; flossa weave
Dimensions : Height - 120 inches x Width - 65 inches (304.8 x 165.1 cm)
Collection : Museum of Art and Design, New York, NY, Gift of the Johnson Wax Company, through the American Craft Council, 1977 (1977.2.87)
Artwork Link : Flossa Rug (Haleakala) - Museum of Art and Design
Date : 1970
Medium : Wool, silk, linen, and rayon
Dimensions : Height - 108 inches x Length - 168 inches (274 x 427 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Photo credit : Mario Gallucci
Date : c. 1970s
Medium : Wool
Dimensions : Height - 124 inches x Width - 45 1/2 inches (315 x 116 cm)
Collection : Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (G114)
Artwork Link : Peacock - Hawaii State Foundation of Culture and the Arts
Date : 1960
Medium : Wool, silk, linen, and rayon
Dimensions : Height - 100 inches x 37 inches (254 x 94)
Collection : Honolulu Museum of Art, Gift of The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, 2011, gift of the Honolulu Advertiser Collection at Persis Corporation (1983.5.331)
Museum Link : Honolulu Museum of Art
Date : 1970
Medium : Wool, linen, cotton, and silk
Dimensions : Height - 96 inches x Width - 42 inches (244 x 107 cm)
Collection : Okinawa Prefectural Art Museum, Gift of the Artist
Photo credit : Mario Gallucci
Museum Link : Okinawa Prefectural Art Museum
Date : 1970
Medium : Wool, linen, silk, cotton and rayon
Dimensions : Height - 48 inches x Length - 132 inches (122 x 335 cm)
Collection : Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts (0397-77)
Artwork Link : Mauna Kea - Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts
Date : 1960s
Medium : Wool, Linen, Silk, and Rayon
Dimensions : Height - 98 inches x Width - 42 inches (249 x 107 cm)
Collection : Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum, Gift of the Artist
Photo credit : Mario Gallucci
Museum Link : Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum
TreeS
Takaezu amongst the “Tree-Man Forest” in 1989. Contemporary Museum, Honolulu HI.
“Another sculptural form which emerged in the 1970’s and which reflects Takaezu’s strong relationship with nature and the landscape is a tall hollow cylindrical structure the artist refers to as a “Tree Form”. With truncated, flat tops or rounded ones that recall the silhouette of the artist’s classic rounded closed form, the tree forms draw their inspiration from the island of Hawaii’s Devastation Forest, the stark volcanic landscape with burned trees that stand amid the fields of broken lava which consumed them. Installed singly or, more often in groups such as “Lava Forest” and “Tree-Man Forest”, these forms create a powerful anthropomorphic presence, like sentinels standing in mute attention and guarding the land.”
JAMES JENSEN
Curator of Contemporary Art, Honolulu Museum of Art
Toshiko Takaezu Retrospective, The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan, 1995.
Date : late 1980s
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 60 inches x Height - 12 inches (152.4 x 30.5 cm)
Collection : Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, Gift of the artist in memory of Caroline J. Rister (2007.17.3)
Photo credit : Randy Batista Photography
Museum link : Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida
Date : 1990s
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 67 1/4 inches x Diameter 13 3/16 inches (170.8 x 33.5 cm)
Collection: Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, NJ, Gift of the Artist (2008-6)
Artwork Link : Homage to Sawada Tetsuro - Princeton University Art Museum
Date : late 1980s
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 5 ft. 7 in. x Height - 13 in. (170.2 x 33 cm)
Collection : Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, Gift of the artist in memory of Caroline J. Rister (2007.17.2)
Photo credit : Randy Batista Photography
Museum link : Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida
Left - Date : 1970’s - Medium : Glazed Stoneware - Dimensions : 65.5”H x 8”D
Middle - Date : 1970’s/1980’s - Medium : Glazed Stoneware - Dimensions : 66”H x 10.5”D
Right - Date : 1970s/1980’s - Medium : Glazed Stoneware - Dimensions : 63.5”H x 12”D
Collection : Private Collection
Photo credit: Christopher Gardner
Date : 1975-85
Medium : Stoneware with white glaze and copper, brush design
Dimensions : Height - 67 1/2 inches x Depth - 10 inches x Width - 12 inches (171.45 x 25.4 x 30.48 cm)
Collection : Pennsylvania Academy of the Arts Museum, Philadelphia, PA, Art by Women Collection, Gift of Linda Lee Alter (2011.1.17)
Artwork Link : Stoneware Tree - Pennsylvania Academy of the Arts Museum
Date : 1977-1979
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height - 62 × Width - 11 inches (157.5 × 27.9 cm)
Collection : Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA, Gift of the Artist, 2007 (2007-68-19)
Artwork Link : Tall Form - Philadelphia Museum of Art
Date : 1982 – 1987
Medium : Glazed stoneware
Dimensions : 98 H x 121 x 121 inches as installed (249 x 307 x 307 cm)
Collection : Racine Art Museum, Racine, WI, Gift of the Artist
Photo credit : First image - Tang Teaching Museum, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY : Second image - Racine Art Museum, Racine WI : Photographer - Michael Tropea, Chicago
Museum Links : Racine Art Museum / Tang Teaching Museum, Skidmore College
Utilitarian Works
Takaezu holding one of her tea bowls. Photographer unknown. Toshiko Takaezu Archives
As a ceramic artist who emerged in the postwar years of the 1950’s and 1960’s, Takaezu was instrumental in moving ceramics beyond its historical ties to the concept of function and into the realm of sculpture, transforming clay from something associated only with utilitarian objects to something that could be meaningful, capable of embodying abstract ideas.*
Her early utilitarian work included tea pots, tea bowls, plates, bowls, bottle vases, and square plates. While Takaezu’s early reductionist experimentation of these functional wares eventually lead to her signature “closed form”, she continued to make plates and bowls during her long career which embodied her striking abstract expressionist glazing.
*JAMES JENSEN
Curator of Contemporary Art, Honolulu Museum of Art
Toshiko Takaezu Retrospective, The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan, 1995.
Date : 1980s
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Height - 2 inches x Diameter - 10 inches (5 x 25.4 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Photo Credit: Christopher Gardner
Date : 1980s
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : 10 1/2 H x 10 1/2 W x 3/4 D inches ( 27 x 27 x 2cm)
Collection : Chazen Museum of Art, Madison, WI, Gift of the artist (2007.19.19)
Artwork Link : Untitled - Chazen Museum of Art
Date : 1980 - 1989
Medium : Anagama-fired Stoneware
Dimensions : Height : 12 1/2 inches x Diameter - 9 inches (31.8 × 22.9 cm)
Collection : Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, Gift of Toshiko Takaezu (2006.253)
Artwork Link : Anagama Vase - Art Institute of Chicago
Date : 1980s
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : 3 1/4" x 5 7/16" x 5 7/16"
Collection : Canton Museum of Art, Canton, OH, (2002.3)
Artwork Link : Tea Bowl - Canton Museum of Art
Date : 1970s
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Diameter - 12 inches (30.5 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Photo credit : Peter Russo
Date: 1990s
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Height - 7 inches x Width - 12.5 inches (17.8 x 31.75 cm)
Collection : Kamm Teapot Foundation, Statesville, NC (2009.32)
Photo credit : David H. Ramsey
Artwork Link : Kamm Teapot Foundation
Date : 1970s
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Height x Diameter : 4x13 l/4 inches (10.2 x 33.7 cm)
Collection : The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri. Gift of Gertrude Ferguson from the collection of Ken Ferguson (2012,44,1)
Photo credit : John Lamberron
Artwork Link : Bowl - The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Date : 1960s
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Diameter - 16 inches (40 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Photo Credit : Nicholas Newcomb
Date : 1963
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : 10 inches square (25.5 cm square)
Collection : Unknown Private Collection
Date : 1960s
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Diameter - 12 inches (30.5 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Date : 1970s.
Medium : Glazed porcelain
Dimensions : Height x Diameter : 3 l/4 x 5 1/4 inches (8.3 x 13.3 cm)
Collection : The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri. Gift of Gertrude Ferguson from the collection of Ken Ferguson (2012.44.2)
Photography Credit : John Lamberton
Artwork Link : Bowl - The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Date : 1980s
Medium : Anagama-fired Stoneware
Dimensions : Diameter : 16 inches (40.5 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Date : 1990s
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Diameter - 9 inches (23 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Date : 1968
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : 10 1/2 x 1 x 10 1/2 inches (26.7 x 2.5 x 26.7 cm)
Collection : Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pa, Bequest of Melvin Richman, 2002 (2016-79-2a--c)
Artwork Link : Aki - Philadelphia Museum of Art
Date : 2000s
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimension : Height - 3.5 inches x Diameter - 6 inches (9 x 16.25 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Date : 2000s
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions - each plate 6 inches square (16.25 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Date : 1963
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Height - 7.5 inches x Diameter - 18 inches (19 x 45.75 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Photo Credit : Christopher Gardner
Date : 1998
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Height - 2.5 inches (6.42 cm)
Collection : Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence, RI, Gift of G. Daniel Massad (2015.81)
Artwork Link : Bowl - Rhode Island School of Design Museum
Date : 1980s
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : each plate 5 inches square (13 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Date : 1990s
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Diameter - 9 inches (23 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Photo credit : Christopher Gardner
Date : 1990s
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : 16 inches square (40.5 cm)
Collection : Unknown private collection
Photo credit : Nicholas Newcomb
Date : 1980s
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : 16 inches square (40.5 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Date : 1980s
Medium : Glazed Stoneware
Dimensions : Approximately 14 inches square (35.5 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Photo credits : Grouping - Mario Gallucci, Individual plate photographs - Nicholas Newcomb
Date : n.d.
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Height - 2 15/16 inches × Diameter 5 3/16 inches (7,4 x 13.1 cm)
Collection : Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, NJ, Gift of Lor Campbell Gehret and G. Michael Gehret, Class of 1969 (2015-6822)
Artwork Link : Untitled - Princeton University Art Museum
Date : 1982
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Height - 1 inch x Diameter - 10.5 inches (2.5 x 26.7 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Photo credit : Christopher Gardner
Date : 1980s
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : each plate 8 inches square (20.3 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Photo Credit : Andy Rahe
Bronze
Takaezu with one of her bronze bells, 1991 Photo credit: Thomas Brummett
In the last decades of her career, Takaezu created a series of sculptural works in bronze at the Seward Johnson Atelier in Trenton, NJ. Using the lost-wax process, many of her bronze forms were extensions of her work in clay - trees, moons, and sculptural forms. Working in bronze enabled her to create forms that went beyond the structural properties of clay.
During this period, Takaezu created a series of bronze bells inspired by Japanese temple bells. Like those ancient precedents, Takaezu’s bells have no clappers. Instead, the bells are struck with a wooden mallet to produce rich, sonorous tones furthering her intent of integrating sound into her work. The surface treatments of these bells reflect a wide range of patinas, colors, and textures.
BELLS
Date : 2000
Medium : Cast Bronze
Dimensions : Height - 32 1/2 inches x Diameter - 21 1/2 inches (82.5 x 54.6 cm)
Collection : Princeton University, Princeton, NJ (PP638)
Artwork Link : Remembrance - Princeton University
Date : 2000s
Medium : Cast Bronze
Dimensions : Height - 30 inches x Diameter - 20 inches (76 x 51 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Date : 1986
Medium : Bronze, oak
Dimensions : Estimated: 27 × 17 inches (68.6 × 43.2 cm)
Collection : Philadelphia Museum of Art: Philadelphia, PA, Gift of Andrea M. Baldeck, M.D., in memory of William M. Hollis and Toshiko Takaezu (2017-112-1)
Artwork Link : Bell - Philadelphia Museum of Art
Date : 1990s
Medium : Cast Bronze
Dimensions : approx. H 22” x D 15”
Collection : Private Collection
Date : 1990s
Medium : Cast Bronze
Dimensions : Height- 22 inches x Diameter - 16 inches (56 x 41 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Date : 1998
Medium: Cast Bronze
Dimensions : Height - 35 inches x Diameter - 22 inches (89 x 56 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Date : 1993
Medium : Bronze
Dimensions : approx. H - 30” x D -16”
Collection : Longhouse Reserve, East Hampton, NY
Photo credit : NIcholas Newcomb
Museum Link : Longhouse Reserve
Date : 1980s
Medium : Cast Bronze
Dimensions : approx. Height - 22 inches (56cm)
Collection : location unknown
Photo credit : Toshiko Takaezu Archives
Date : 1989
Medium : Cast Bronze
Dimensions : Height - 23 inches x Diameter - 20 inches (58.4 x 51 cm)
Collection : Bloomsburg University Sculpture Garden, Possible by students, alumni, faculty, staff, administration, friends of the university, and the Class of 1987 (Reinstalled 2016, Gift of Thomas J. ‘65 & Cecilia Mistal ‘66 Toth)
Photo credit : Andy Rahe
Artwork Link : Endless Circle - Bloomsburg University
Sculptural Forms
Date : 2000s
Medium : Cast Bronze
Dimensions : Various heights - 78-96 inches x Diameters - 12 inches (198-244 x 30.5 cm)
Collection : Private Collection
Photo credit : Andy Rahe
Date : 1980s
Medium : Cast Bronze
Dimensions : Approximately 16 inches in diameter
Collection : Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, Hawaii
Artwork Link : Green Moon - Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts
Date : 1990s
Medium : Cast Bronze with Patina
Dimensions : approx 65” in height
Collection : LongHouse Reserve
Institution Link : LongHouse Reserve
Date : 1982
Medium : Bronze
Dimensions : Height - 60 inches x Width - 12 inches x Depth - 4 inches (152 x 30.5 x 10 cm)
Collection : location unknown
Photo credit : Peter Held
Date : 2000s
Medium : Cast Bronze
Dimensions : Each : Height - 80 inches x Diameter - 24 inches ( 203 x 61 cm)
Collection : Private Collection, on long term loan at the Hunterdon Art Museum, Clinton, NJ
Artwork Link : Three Graces - Hunterdon Art Museum
Date : 1994
Medium : Glazed Porcelain
Dimensions : Height - 8.85 inches x Diameter 5.62 inches (22.5 x 14.3 cm)
Collection : The National Museum of Art, Kyoto, Japan, (Cr1068)
Artwork Link : Ocean Edge - The National Museum of Art, Kyoto