Akio Takamori

Akio Takamori
Born(1950-10-11)October 11, 1950
Nobeoka, Japan
DiedJanuary 11, 2017(2017-01-11) (aged 66)
NationalityJapanese-American
EducationMusashino Art University, Kansas City Art Institute, Alfred University
Known forCeramic sculpture
Websiteakiotakamori.com

Akio Takamori (1950 – 2017) was a Japanese-American ceramic sculptor and educator. Takamori often incorporated human forms into his creations.[1]

Early life and education

Takamori was born in Nobeoka, Miyazaki, Japan on October 11, 1950.[2][3] His childhood home had his father's attached medical clinic which was to be later a one of several sources for his inspiration.[4] In Japan, Takamori attended Musashino Art University.[5] In 1974, he moved to the United States and attended the Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) where he studied with ceramist Ken Ferguson who encouraged him to work figuratively.[6] Takamori received an MFA in 1978 from Alfred University in New York.[7] He subsequently had artist residencies at the Archie Bray Foundation in Montana, the European Ceramic Workcentre in the Netherlands, and the Kecskemét International Ceramic Studios in Hungary.[6]

Career

He moved to Vashon Island in 1988 and set up a studio with a salt kiln and lived there until 1994.[8] While there, in 1993, Takamori began his teaching career at the University of Washington where he taught until he retired in 2014 as professor emeritus.[9][10]

Takamori died on January 11, 2017, in Seattle, Washington[2][3] of pancreatic cancer.[4]

Select shows and collections

His work is in the collection of the Carnegie Museum of Art,[11] the Los Angeles County Museum of Art,[12] the Museum of Arts and Design,[13] the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art,[14] the Victoria and Albert Museum,[15] His work, Alice with Rose, was acquired by the Smithsonian American Art Museum as part of the Renwick Gallery's 50th Anniversary Campaign.[16][17]

In 2000, the Racine Art Museum held a retrospective of his work.[7] In 2022, the Vashon Center for the Arts held a retrospective of his work curated by his wife Vicky and the James Harris Gallery.[8] In 2024, the Keramikmuseum Westerwald in Höhr-Grenzhausen held an exhibition entitled "Akio Takamori: Consideration" in which his drawings, ceramic figurative work of couples, as well as his karako were shown.[6]

Awards and honors

In 2001, Takamori received a Virginia A. Groot Foundation Award.[18] In 2006, Takamori became a Fellow of the American Craft Council.[10] The same year he was awarded a Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant.[19]

References

  1. ^ "Akio Takamori". Craft in America. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Akio Takamori". Portland Art Museum. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Akio Takamori |". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Vashon Center for the Arts to exhibit Akio Takamori's work". Northwest Asian Weekly. 2022-04-21. Retrieved 2025-03-02.
  5. ^ a b c "Akio Takamori: Consideration at Keramikmuseum Westerwald, Höhr-Grenzhausen". Ceramics Now. 2024-01-30. Retrieved 2025-03-02.
  6. ^ a b "Akio Takamori". Racine Art Museum. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Akio Takamori : Time". Vashon Center for the Arts. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  8. ^ "Beloved Seattle ceramic artist Akio Takamori, 'a very gentle soul,' dies at 66". The Seattle Times. 15 January 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Remembering: Akio Takamori". American Craft Council. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  10. ^ "Akio Takamori - Classic Goddess". CMOA Collection. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  11. ^ "Akio Takamori". LACMA Collections. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  12. ^ "Akio Takamori". Museum of Arts and Design. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  13. ^ "Works – Akio Takamori". The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  14. ^ "Two Women | Takamori, Akio". Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  15. ^ Savig, Mary; Atkinson, Nora; Montiel, Anya (2022). This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World. Washington, DC: Smithsonian American Art Museum. pp. 228–238. ISBN 9781913875268.
  16. ^ "Alice with Rose, from the series Alice/Venus". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  17. ^ "Takamori". The Marks Project. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  18. ^ "Akio Takamori". Joan Mitchell Foundation. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
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