Akio Takamori Art
Japanese, 1950-2017
Akio Takamori (1950 – January 11, 2017) was a Japanese-American ceramic sculptor and was a faculty member at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington.
Takamori was born in Nobeoka, Miyazaki, Japan in 1950 October 11. The son of an obstetrician/gynecologist who ran a clinic, Takamori was exposed to a wide range of people from an early age. At home, his father’s extensive library of both art and medical texts became a fascination for Takamori, who relished everything from Picasso reproductions to anatomical charts.
Takamori’s interest in the arts persisted into early adulthood and upon his graduation from the Musashino Art College in 1971, he apprenticed to a master folk potter at Koishiwara, Fukuoka, Kyushu – Koishiwara ware. While learning the craft of industrial ceramics in a factory setting, he saw a traveling exhibition of contemporary ceramic art from Latin America, Canada, and the United States. Blown away by what he describes as the “antiauthoritarian” quality of the work, Takamori began to question his future as an industrial potter. When renowned American ceramist Ken Ferguson visited the pottery, the two had an immediate rapport and Ferguson encouraged Takamori go to the United States and study with him at the Kansas City Art Institute.
In 1974 Takamori made the move to the United States, receiving his B.F.A. from the Kansas City Art Institute and later attending Alfred University in New York for his M.F.A. After working as a resident artist at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana, he moved to Seattle, Washington in 1993, where he took his current teaching position as associate professor of the ceramics department.
Takamori’s evolution as an artist began as he worked with Ferguson to break free of the constraints of industrial pottery and find new ways to express himself in clay. Since those first years at the Kansas City Art Institute his work has changed greatly, but it has always been figurative, based on the human body and expressive of human emotion and sensuality.
In the 1980s, Takamori worked innovatively with the vessel form and its structure, creating flat envelope shaped pots formed from slabs.
In the mid-1990s a visit to the European Ceramic Work Center in the Netherlands resulted in a shift from vessels back to an early interest in sculpture and the figure. Takamori created groupings of standing figural sculptures. The figures portray historical characters, contemporary society and rural villagers recalled from the artist's childhood in Japan.
Most of Takamori’s work has been strongly influenced by his Japanese heritage. He has translated traditional Japanese prints into three-dimensional porcelain sculptures, he recreated his hometown in Japan from memory using clay, and he has translated Peter Bruegel’s paintings into sculptures of Japanese people.
Takamori collaborated with Master Printer Mike Sims, of The Lawrence Lithography Workshop in Kansas City, Missouri, to create a series of prints that combine digital images of his ceramic sculptures with more traditional lithography printing techniques.to
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Fruit Tree (Japanese-American, Sculptor, Print Maker, Cultural Identity, Iconic)
By Akio Takamori
Located in Kansas City, MO
Akio Takamori
Fruit Tree, 1993
Medium: 4 Color Lithograph
Edition: 30
Paper: Rives BFK, White
Paper Size: 33.5″ x 15″
Image Size: 29.5″ x 11″
Signed, dated, numbered and inscribed by...
Category
1990s American Modern Akio Takamori Art
Materials
Lithograph, Archival Paper
Honey Thief
By Akio Takamori
Located in Kansas City, MO
Honey Thief, 2016
Medium: 5 Color Lithograph
Edition: 27
Paper: Handmade HMP Waterleaf
Paper Size: 24.5″ x 20.5″ (irregular)
Image Size: 21.75″ x 13″ (irregular)
COA provided
On the...
Category
2010s Contemporary Akio Takamori Art
Materials
Lithograph
Ceramic Figurative Sculpture by Akio Takamori Published
By Akio Takamori
Located in Atlanta, GA
A large figurative ceramic sculpture entitled by Akio Takamori (1950 - 2017) created in 2004. Stoneware with hand-painted surface, the sculpture depicts a half-naked standing boy figure with his hands in praying position. His berobed lower body, interestingly, morphed into a highly sculptural form. The scarlet color drapery with black stripes swells and coils into shapes that resembles breasts, echoing the statue's young age. The figure was apparently based on Prince Shotoku (574-622AD), a semi-legendary regent of the Asuka period...
Category
Early 2000s American Modern Akio Takamori Art
Materials
Ceramic
Important Ceramic Sculpture Karako by Akio Takamori Exhibited and Published
By Akio Takamori
Located in Atlanta, GA
Large figurative ceramic sculpture entitled "Karako" by Akio Takamori (1950 - 2017) created in 2005. Stoneware with hand-painted surface, the sculpture depicts a berobed boy in a sit...
Category
Early 2000s American Modern Akio Takamori Art
Materials
Ceramic
Untitled by Akio Takamori
By Akio Takamori
Located in Morton Grove, IL
photo xerox with ink
image size - 5 x 6”; frame size - 11 x 12”
BIO
Akio Takamori (1950 - 2017) was a sculptor, printmaker, and painter who explored human relationships: interperso...
Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Akio Takamori Art
Materials
Ink, Laser
Secret State Goddess by Akio Takamori
By Akio Takamori
Located in Morton Grove, IL
monoprint, woodcut, gold paint
Category
1980s Contemporary Akio Takamori Art
Materials
Paint, Monoprint, Woodcut
Man and Woman
By Akio Takamori
Located in Kansas City, MO
Artist: Akio Takamori
Title: Man and Woman
Date: 1993
Medium: Lithograph, Rives BFK white
Dimensions: 29.5 x 11 inches
Editions: 30
Akio Takamori’s evo...
Category
1990s Expressionist Akio Takamori Art
Materials
Printer's Ink, Handmade Paper, Lithograph
Fuck
By Akio Takamori
Located in Kansas City, MO
Artist: Akio Takamori
Title: Fuck
Date: 1996
Medium: 4 Color Lithograph
Dimensions: 24.75 x 33.5 inches
Editions: 24
Akio Takamori’s evolution as an artist began as he worked with ...
Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Akio Takamori Art
Materials
Wood, Printer's Ink, Handmade Paper, Color, Lithograph
War
By Akio Takamori
Located in Kansas City, MO
Artist: Akio Takamori
Title: War
Date: 2013
Medium: Lithograph and woodblock with chine colle
Dimensions: 17.5 x 22.5 inches
Editions: 36
Akio Takamori’s evolution as an artist beg...
Category
2010s Akio Takamori Art
Materials
Printer's Ink, Color, Lithograph, Wood, Handmade Paper
Monkey Business Series
By Akio Takamori
Located in Kansas City, MO
Artist: Akio Takamori
Title: Sitting Monkey, Leaping Monkey, Walking Monkey from Monkey Business Series
Date: 2011
Medium: Archival ink jet and hand li...
Category
2010s Pop Art Akio Takamori Art
Materials
Printer's Ink, Archival Ink, Color, Inkjet, Lithograph
Duet
By Akio Takamori
Located in Kansas City, MO
Artist: Akio Takamori
Title: Duet
Date: 2008
Medium: Archival ink jet and hand lithography
Dimensions: 21.25 x 26.5 inches
Editions: 45
Akio Takamori’s evolution as an artist began...
Category
Early 2000s Expressionist Akio Takamori Art
Materials
Printer's Ink, Archival Ink, Color, Inkjet, Lithograph
Love
By Akio Takamori
Located in Kansas City, MO
Artist: Akio Takamori
Title: Love
Date: 2008
Medium: Archival ink jet and hand lithography
Dimensions: 24 x 31.5 inches
Editions: 45
Akio Takamori’s evolution as an artist began as...
Category
Early 2000s Surrealist Akio Takamori Art
Materials
Printer's Ink, Archival Ink, Color, Inkjet, Lithograph
Secret State Goddess
By Akio Takamori
Located in Kansas City, MO
Akio Takamori
"Secret State Goddess"
Monoprint, woodcut, gold paint
Year: 1989
Signed by artist & dated "7/1989"
*created at the Anderson Ranch Art Center
Size: 39 x 21.5"
Akio Takamori (1950 – January 11, 2017) was a Japanese-American ceramic sculptor and was a faculty member at the University of Washington.
Akio Takamori’s evolution as an artist began as he worked with Ferguson to break free of the constraints of industrial pottery and find new ways to express himself in clay. Since those first years at the Kansas City Art Institute his work has changed greatly, but it has always been figurative, based on the human body and expressive of human emotion and sensuality.
In the 1980s, Takamori worked innovatively with the vessel form and its structure, creating flat envelope shaped pots formed from slabs. Once the ceramic piece was finished, he would paint onto the surface adding details of the figures that he was representing. These figures often explored human relationships. His work in this format lasted about ten years.
In the mid-1990s a visit to the European Ceramic Work Center in The Netherlands resulted in a shift from vessels back to an early interest in sculpture and the figure. Takamori created groupings of standing figural sculptures...
Category
1980s Contemporary Akio Takamori Art
Materials
Monoprint
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Cup with Face (Modern Ceramics)
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Date : 1980-1989
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3 Tier House with Women inside
By Akio Takamori
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Title : 3 Tier House with Women inside
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Date : 1975
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Takamori was born in Nobeoka, Miyazaki, Japan in 1950 October 11. The son of an obstetrician/gynecologist who ran a clinic, Takamori was exposed to a wide range of people from an early age. At home, his father’s extensive library of both art and medical texts became a fascination for Takamori, who relished everything from Picasso reproductions...
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Cup IX
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Cup VIII
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Date : 1980-1989
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Cup VII
By Akio Takamori
Located in Kansas City, MO
Artist : Akio Takamori
Title : "Cup VII"
Materials : Porcelain, Glaze
Date : 1980-1989
Dimensions : 4x 3.5 x 4 Inches
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Cup V
By Akio Takamori
Located in Kansas City, MO
Artist : Akio Takamori
Title : "Cup V"
Materials : Porcelain, Glaze
Date : 1980-1989
Dimensions : 4x 3.5 x 4 Inches
Description : Cup with Face, signed
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Cup IV
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Takamori was born in Nobeoka, Miyazaki, Japan in 1950 October 11. The son of an obstetrician/gynecologist who ran a clinic, Takamori was exposed to a wide range of people from an early age. At home, his father’s extensive library of both art and medical texts became a fascination for Takamori, who relished everything from Picasso reproductions...
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Akio Takamori art for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Akio Takamori art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Akio Takamori in lithograph, archival paper, digital print and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 21st century and contemporary and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Akio Takamori art, so small editions measuring 7 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Mikio Watanabe, Katsunori Hamanishi, and Elizabeth Peyton. Akio Takamori art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,250 and tops out at $7,125, while the average work can sell for $2,600.