Akio Takamori Furniture

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.

Creator: Akio Takamori

Important Ceramic Sculpture Karako by Akio Takamori Exhibited and Published

$40,000

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...

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Early 2000s American Modern Akio Takamori Furniture

Materials

Ceramic

Ceramic Figurative Sculpture by Akio Takamori Published

$34,000

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...

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Early 2000s American Modern Akio Takamori Furniture

Materials

Ceramic

Postmodern Black and White Abstract Figurative Ceramic Sculpture by Jack Charney

$1,400

H 12.5 in W 18 in D 14.5 in

Postmodern Black and White Abstract Figurative Ceramic Sculpture by Jack Charney

Located in Troy, MI

Unique ceramic sculpture by Jack Charney Santa Fe New Mexico circa 1990 Abstract ceramic figure with elongated limbs in a dynamic contorted form Finished with a hand-painted black s...

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1990s North American Post-Modern Akio Takamori Furniture

Materials

Ceramic, Pottery

Figurative Unglazed Ceramic Female Sculpture, Ref. B_A

$260Sale Price|20% Off

H 10 in W 4 in D 2.75 in

Figurative Unglazed Ceramic Female Sculpture, Ref. B_A

Located in San Diego, CA

Figurative unglazed ceramic female sculpture. The natural color of the clay, paired with the robust physique is what called us to this piece. Signed a...

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20th Century Unknown Akio Takamori Furniture

Materials

Ceramic

Ceramic and Copper Sculpture by Tom Phardel

$12,000

H 43 in W 47 in D 9.5 in

Ceramic and Copper Sculpture by Tom Phardel

By Tom Phardel

Located in Palm Springs, CA

Ceramic and copper sculpture by Michigan artist Tom Phardel. Sculpture is titled 'The Ring' and it was executed in 1988. This sculpture was exhibited at the 13th exhibition Michigan Artists Program at the Detroit Institute of Arts from December, 1990 through February 1991. This exhibition was titled 'Graham Marks...

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1980s American Organic Modern Vintage Akio Takamori Furniture

Materials

Copper

Important Ceramic Sculpture by Tim Orr, circa 1970

$1,709

H 17.72 in W 13 in D 10.24 in

Important Ceramic Sculpture by Tim Orr, circa 1970

By Tim Orr

Located in Neuilly-en- sancerre, FR

An important ceramic sculpture by Tim Orr. Signed under the base, circa 1970.

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20th Century French Beaux Arts Akio Takamori Furniture

Materials

Ceramic

Sascha Brastoff Signed Figurative Ceramic Sculpture, 20th Century

$1,500

H 10.63 in W 8 in D 7.38 in

Sascha Brastoff Signed Figurative Ceramic Sculpture, 20th Century

By Sascha Brastoff

Located in San Juan Capistrano, CA

Sascha Brastoff Signed Figurative Sculpture, 20th Century.

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20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Akio Takamori Furniture

Materials

Ceramic

Important French Brutalist Ceramic Sculpture, Jean Pierre Gasnier, Port-de- Bouc

$2,553

H 17.3 in W 13.4 in D 25.6 in

Important French Brutalist Ceramic Sculpture, Jean Pierre Gasnier, Port-de- Bouc

By Jean-Pierre Gasnier

Located in BORGO, FR

Important and rare sculptural ceramic by French artist H. Gasnier, signed “H. Gasnier – Port de Bouc,” and created in the 1970s. This striking large-scale piece depicts a stylized zo...

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1970s French Organic Modern Vintage Akio Takamori Furniture

Materials

Ceramic

Blue Important Abstract Ceramic Sculpture by F Michel Garden Decorative Design

$3,191

H 56.3 in W 5.91 in D 5.91 in

Blue Important Abstract Ceramic Sculpture by F Michel Garden Decorative Design

Located in Neuilly-en- sancerre, FR

Francine Michel Large and elegant blue ceramic sculpture by Belgian artist Realised in France in La Borne, circa 2010 Ceramic sculpture for indoors and outdoors Sculpture...

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21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Akio Takamori Furniture

Materials

Ceramic

Swedish Ceramic Sculpture, Terracotta, Figurative Design, 1980s

$560

H 7.29 in W 4.34 in D 2.76 in

Swedish Ceramic Sculpture, Terracotta, Figurative Design, 1980s

Located in Stockholm, SE

Swedish ceramic sculpture dating from the 1980s, depicting a highly stylized human figure in a simplified, almost primitive form. The sculpture is characterized by its strong, archit...

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1980s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Akio Takamori Furniture

Materials

Clay

Kelvin LaVerne Rare and Important "Giacometti's Soul" Sculpture 1980s (Signed)

$35,000

H 24 in W 16 in D 9.5 in

Kelvin LaVerne Rare and Important "Giacometti's Soul" Sculpture 1980s (Signed)

By Philip and Kelvin LaVerne

Located in Fort Lauderdale, FL

Rare and exceptional cast sculpture "Giacometti's Soul" in bronze with hand-painted enamels on a patinated bronze base by Kelvin LaVerne, American late 1980's (Engraved signature on ...

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1980s American Modern Vintage Akio Takamori Furniture

Materials

Bronze, Enamel

Ceramic sculpture by Menelika

$2,735

H 9.85 in W 4.73 in D 8.67 in L 9.85 in

Ceramic sculpture by Menelika

Located in grand Lancy, CH

A ceramic sculpture by Menelika, in a very beautiful style, belonging to the most elegant production of this workshop. Unfortunately, there is a possibility that the seal on the left...

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1960s Swiss Vintage Akio Takamori Furniture

Materials

Ceramic

Figurative Wooden Sculpture by F Tamba

$4,459

H 15.75 in W 30.32 in D 5.12 in

Figurative Wooden Sculpture by F Tamba

Located in Antwerp, BE

Highly rare and decorative elegant scene in wood of a man making respectfully advances to a lady, with female servants bringing food. Made in Congo in the 20th century, and offered b...

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Mid-20th Century Congolese Mid-Century Modern Akio Takamori Furniture

Materials

Wood

Whimsical Modern Ceramic and Plaster Sculptures by Scott Rosenthal

$550 / item

H 21 in W 14 in D 10 in

Whimsical Modern Ceramic and Plaster Sculptures by Scott Rosenthal

By Scott Rosenthal

Located in Chesterfield, NJ

Whimsical wheeled ceramic and plaster sculptures by artist Scott Rosenthal. The larger sculpture is fired ceramic, and the two smaller car sculptures are pl...

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