Toshiko Takaezu
Encyclopedia
Toshiko Takaezu was an American ceramic
artist.
She was born to Japanese immigrant
parents in Pepeekeo, Hawaii, in 1922. She studied at the Honolulu Academy of Arts
and at the University of Hawaii
under Claude Horan
from 1948-1951. From 1951-1954 she continued her studies at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
, where she befriended Finnish ceramist Maija Grotell
, who became her mentor.
In 1955, Takaezu traveled to Japan
, where she studied Buddhism
and the techniques of traditional Japanese pottery
, which continue to influence her work. She taught for ten years at the Cleveland Institute of Art
, and then from 1967-1992 she taught at Princeton University
, where she was awarded an honorary doctorate.
She retired in 1992 to become a studio artist, living and working in Quakertown, New Jersey, about thirty 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
. She lived in Hawaii for 10 years and died March 9, 2011 in Honolulu.
Toshiko Takaezu made functional wheel-thrown vessels early in her career. Later she switched to abstract sculptures with freely applied poured and painted glazes.
(Andover, Massachusetts), the Allentown Art Museum
(Allentown, Pennsylvania), Bloomsburg University (Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania), the Butler Institute of American Art
(Youngstown, Ohio), the Cleveland Museum of Art
, the Currier Museum of Art
(Manchester, New Hampshire), the Detroit Institute of Arts
, the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery
(Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY), the Hunterdon Art Museum (Clinton, New Jersey), Grounds for Sculpture
(Hamilton, New Jersey), the Hawaii State Art Museum
, the High Museum of Art
(Atlanta, Georgia), the Honolulu Academy of Arts
, Kresge Art Museum (Michigan State University
, East Lansing, Michigan), the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
, the New Jersey State Museum
(Trenton, New Jersey), the Philadelphia Museum of Art
, the Racine Art Museum
(Racine, Wisconsin), the Smithsonian American Art Museum
(Washington, D.C.), the University Art Museum (Albany, New York), the University of Hawaii at Hilo
, and the Zanesville Museum of Art, Zanesville, OH, are among the public collections holding works by Toshiko Takaezu.
Ceramic
A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...
artist.
She was born to Japanese immigrant
Japanese American
are American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
parents in Pepeekeo, Hawaii, in 1922. She studied at the Honolulu Academy of Arts
Honolulu Academy of Arts
The Honolulu Academy of Arts is an art museum in Honolulu in the state of Hawaii. Since its founding in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke and opening April 8, 1927, its collections have grown to over 40,000 works of art.-Description:...
and at the University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
under Claude Horan
Claude Horan
Claude Horan is an American sculptor who was born in Long Beach, California. He received a BA from San Jose State University in 1942 BA and an MA degree in art from Ohio State University in 1946. His wife Suzi Pleyte Horan collaborated on many of the larger projects.He started the ceramics...
from 1948-1951. From 1951-1954 she continued her studies at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Bloomfield Hills is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan, northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,869...
, where she befriended Finnish ceramist Maija Grotell
Maija Grotell
Maija Grotell was a ceramist and teacher sometimes described today as the “mother of American ceramics”. Grotell was born in Helsinki, Finland, and emigrated to New York in 1927. After arriving in New York she studied at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University...
, who became her mentor.
In 1955, Takaezu traveled to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, where she studied Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
and the techniques of traditional Japanese pottery
Japanese pottery
Japanese pottery and porcelain , one of the country's oldest art forms, dates back to the Neolithic period...
, which continue to influence her work. She taught for ten years at the Cleveland Institute of Art
Cleveland Institute of Art
The Cleveland Institute of Art is a private college of art and design located in University Circle, Cleveland, Ohio. It was founded in 1882 as the Western Reserve School of Design for Women. From 1891 until 1948 it was named Cleveland School of Art. During the Great Depression the school...
, and then from 1967-1992 she taught at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, where she was awarded an honorary doctorate.
She retired in 1992 to become a studio artist, living and working in Quakertown, New Jersey, about thirty miles northwest of Princeton
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a community located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is best known as the location of Princeton University, which has been sited in the community since 1756...
. In addition to her studio in New Jersey, she made many of her larger sculptures at Skidmore College
Skidmore College
Skidmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,500 students. The college is located in the town of Saratoga Springs, New York State....
in Saratoga Springs, New York
Saratoga Springs, New York
Saratoga Springs, also known as simply Saratoga, is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 26,586 at the 2010 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area. While the word "Saratoga" is known to be a corruption of a Native American name, ...
. She lived in Hawaii for 10 years and died March 9, 2011 in Honolulu.
Toshiko Takaezu made functional wheel-thrown vessels early in her career. Later she switched to abstract sculptures with freely applied poured and painted glazes.
Public collections containing work
The Addison Gallery of American ArtAddison Gallery of American Art
The Addison Gallery of American Art, as a department of Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, is an academic museum dedicated to collecting American art...
(Andover, Massachusetts), the Allentown Art Museum
Allentown Art Museum
The Allentown Art Museum is an art museum located in the city of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It was founded in 1934 by a group organized by noted Pennsylvania impressionist painter, Walter Emerson Baum. With its collection of over 13,000 works of art, the Allentown Art Museum...
(Allentown, Pennsylvania), Bloomsburg University (Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania), the Butler Institute of American Art
Butler Institute of American Art
The Butler Institute of American Art, located on Wick Avenue in Youngstown, Ohio, United States, was the first museum dedicated exclusively to American art. Established by local industrialist and philanthropist Joseph G. Butler, Jr., the museum has been operating pro bono since 1919...
(Youngstown, Ohio), the Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland Museum of Art
The Cleveland Museum of Art is an art museum situated in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on Cleveland's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian art, the museum houses a diverse permanent collection of more than 43,000...
, the Currier Museum of Art
Currier Museum of Art
The Currier Museum of Art is an art museum in Manchester, New Hampshire, USA, featuring European and American paintings, decorative arts, photographs and sculpture. The permanent collection includes works by Picasso, Matisse, Monet, O'Keeffe, Calder, Scheier and Goldsmith, John Singer Sargent,...
(Manchester, New Hampshire), the Detroit Institute of Arts
Detroit Institute of Arts
The Detroit Institute of Arts is a renowned art museum in the city of Detroit. In 2003, the DIA ranked as the second largest municipally owned museum in the United States, with an art collection valued at more than one billion dollars...
, the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery
Skidmore College
Skidmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,500 students. The college is located in the town of Saratoga Springs, New York State....
(Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY), the Hunterdon Art Museum (Clinton, New Jersey), Grounds for Sculpture
Grounds for Sculpture
Grounds For Sculpture is a sculpture park and museum located in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, United States, on the former site of the New Jersey State Fairgrounds...
(Hamilton, New Jersey), the Hawaii State Art Museum
Hawaii State Art Museum
The No. 1 Capitol District Building, on the site of the former Armed Services YMCA Building, now houses the Hawaii State Art Museum and the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.-History:...
, the High Museum of Art
High Museum of Art
The High Museum of Art , located in Atlanta, is the leading art museum in the Southeastern United States and one of the most-visited art museums in the world. Located on Peachtree Street in Midtown, the city's arts district, the High is a division of the Woodruff Arts Center.-History:The Museum was...
(Atlanta, Georgia), the Honolulu Academy of Arts
Honolulu Academy of Arts
The Honolulu Academy of Arts is an art museum in Honolulu in the state of Hawaii. Since its founding in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke and opening April 8, 1927, its collections have grown to over 40,000 works of art.-Description:...
, Kresge Art Museum (Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
, East Lansing, Michigan), the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is an art museum in Los Angeles, California. It is located on Wilshire Boulevard along Museum Row in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles, adjacent to the George C. Page Museum and La Brea Tar Pits....
, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...
, the New Jersey State Museum
New Jersey State Museum
The New Jersey State Museum is located at 205 West State Street in Trenton, New Jersey, United States, overlooking the Delaware River. The Museum is operated as part of the New Jersey Department of State. General admission is free....
(Trenton, New Jersey), the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It is located at the west end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The Museum was established in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year...
, the Racine Art Museum
Racine Art Museum
The Racine Art Museum and RAM’s Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts are located in Racine, Wisconsin.-History:The Charles A. Wustum Museum was founded in 1941. Jennie E. Wustum, widow of Charles A. Wustum, donated their house, property and small trust fund to the City of Racine, Wisconsin...
(Racine, Wisconsin), the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum is a museum in Washington, D.C. with an extensive collection of American art.Part of the Smithsonian Institution, the museum has a broad variety of American art that covers all regions and art movements found in the United States...
(Washington, D.C.), the University Art Museum (Albany, New York), the University of Hawaii at Hilo
University of Hawaii at Hilo
The University of Hawaii at Hilo, UHH, or UH Hilo is one of the ten branches of the University of Hawaii system anchored by the University of Hawaii at Mānoa in Honolulu, Hawaii...
, and the Zanesville Museum of Art, Zanesville, OH, are among the public collections holding works by Toshiko Takaezu.