Frank Gaydos on thu 26 aug 04
The Philadelphia Museum of Art
August 7, 2004 - March 6, 2005=20
This exhibition features ceramics, weavings, and a monumental bronze =
bell by the American artist Toshiko Takaezu. Born in Hawaii in 1922, =
Takaezu studied ceramics with the renowned artist and teacher Maija =
Grotell and weaving with Marianne Strengell at Cranbrook Academy in =
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The creative spirit of Japanese art and its =
approach to material and decoration have been integral to her work ever =
since.=20
After experimenting with traditional ceramic forms--bowls, vases, and =
plates--in 1958 Takaezu made a dramatic change in her work: she closed =
the openings in these useful objects, denying their function, and =
creating the domed columns and spheres for which she has become famous. =
Takaezu has explored the expressive potential of these "forms," as she =
calls them, for more than forty-five years, subtly modifying shape and =
scale and painting on glazes in infinite variety, to produce ceramic =
sculpture of compelling mood and presence. As she has said: "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 is =
alive."=20
The beauty of Toshiko Takaezu's ceramics and their significance as a =
revolutionary innovation in the art form was recognized early in her =
career. Her work is in numerous public collections, including the =
Smithsonian Institution, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the =
Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the National Museum in Bangkok, =
Thailand; and she has received many honors and awards, among them the =
Gold Medal of the American Craft Council, being named a Living Treasure =
of Hawaii, and receiving the Human Treasure Award from the University of =
North Carolina, as well as several honorary doctorate degrees.=20
Takaezu concluded a distinguished teaching career at Princeton, where =
she taught for twenty-five years until her retirement in 1992. She =
maintains a studio and a famous garden in Quakertown, New Jersey.=20
Sponsors
The exhibition and accompanying publication were made possible by Andrea =
Baldeck and William Hollis.=20
Curators
Dr. Felice Fischer . The Luther W. Brady Curator of Japanese Art and =
Curator of East Asian Art=20
Kathleen A. Foster . The Robert L. McNeil, Jr. Curator of American Art
Darrel Sewell . Curator Emeritus of American Art=20
Location
North Auditorium Gallery, ground floor=20
Frank Gaydos
"Designs in connection with postage stamps
and coinage may be described, I think, as the silent ambassadors on =
national taste."
=20
-William Butler Yeats =20
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