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Henry Tadaaki Takemoto

Biography to Display: 

1930Born Honolulu, Hawai'i

2015 Died

EDUCATION

1957BFA University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii

1959MFA Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles, California

     Takemoto’s early ceramic sculptures were often large constructions, influenced by  the work of Peter Voulkos. His large-scale vessel forms taxed the capacities of the material and form. He used surface decoration, often reflecting his Hawaiian heritage, to enhance and reinforce the vessel form. Typically a white engobe was applied to a brown ground adding quick brush strokes in either blue or deep red.

Henry Takemoto moved to Southern California in the early 1950s to study under Peter Voulkos at Otis Art Institute. Under Voulkos' direction Takemoto, along with John Mason and Paul Soldner, became part of the California clay revolution. 

Takemoto was influenced by Picasso’s ceramic designs and covered his pieces with organic patterns and shapes that were painted and/or incised. His work referenced Abstract Expressionist painting and traditional Asian ceramics. At the beginning of the 1970s, he focused on teaching and designing for industrial production. He was on the faculty of San Francisco Art Institute, Montana State University, California, State College Scripps College, and Claremont College Graduate School.

Public Collections

Public Collections to Display: 

Bibliography

Bibliography to Display: 

Falino, Jeannine. Modernism: Midcentury American Art and Design. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, 2011.

Peabody, Rebeccca, A. Perchuk, G. Philips and R. Singh. Pacific Standard Time: Los Angeles Art, 1945-1980. Los Angeles, CA: Getty Research Institute, 2011.

Nordness, Lee. Objects: USA. New York, NY: The Viking Press, 1970.

Slivka, Rose and Karen Tsujimoto. The Art of Peter Voulkos. Japan: Kodansha International, 2000.

 

 

Typical Marks
1959
ca 1950-1960
ca 1959
ca 1959
ca 1959
1959
Charger
Date: 1950-1960
Materials: Stoneware
Method: Thrown
Surface Technique: Brushwork, Engobe, Glaze
Photo: Loren Maron
Photo: Loren Maron
Photo: Loren Maron
Charger
Date: 1950-1960
Materials: Stoneware
Method: Thrown
Surface Technique: Brushwork, Engobe, Glaze
Photo: Loren Maron
Photo: Loren Maron
Photo: Loren Maron
Plate
Date: 1958
Materials: Stoneware
Method: Thrown
Surface Technique: Glaze
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Marer Collection, Scripps College, 92.1.108
Photo: TMP
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Marer Collection, Scripps College, 92.1.108
Photo: TMP
Charger
Date: 1959
Materials: Stoneware
Method: Thrown
Surface Technique: Glaze
Courtesey Rago Arts and Auctions
Photo: TMP
Courtesey Rago Arts and Auctions
Photo: TMP
Sculpture
Date: 1959
Materials: Stoneware
Method: Hand-Built
Surface Technique: Glaze
Courtesy of Pacific Standard Time
Courtesy of Pacific Standard Time
Small Footed Dish
Date: ca 1959
Materials: Stoneware
Method: Slab-Built
Surface Technique: Polychrome
E. John Bullard Collection
E. John Bullard Collection
Six Sided Platter
Date: ca 1959
Materials: Stoneware
Method: Thrown and Altered
Surface Technique: Glaze
E. John Bullard Collection
E. John Bullard Collection
Tea Bowl
Date: ca 1959
Materials: Stoneware
Method: Thrown
Surface Technique: Glaze
E. John Bullard Collection
E. John Bullard Collection
Platter
Date: 1959
Materials: Shards
Method: Thrown
Surface Technique: Glaze
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Marer Collection, Scripps College, 92.2.107
Photo: TMP
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Marer Collection, Scripps College, 92.2.107
Photo: TMP
Photo: TMP
Platter
Date: 1959
Materials: Stoneware
Method: Thrown
Surface Technique: Glaze
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Marer Collection, Scripps College, 81.8.19
Photo: TMP
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Marer Collection, Scripps College, 81.8.19
Photo: TMP
Photo: TMP
Platter
Date: 1960
Materials: Stoneware
Method: Slab molded
Surface Technique: Glaze
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Marer Collection, Scripps College, 81.8.18
Photo: TMP
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Marer Collection, Scripps College, 81.8.18
Photo: TMP
Photo: TMP
Platter
Date: 1961
Materials: Stoneware
Method: Thrown
Surface Technique: Glaze
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Marer Collection, Scripps College, 92.1.115
Photo: TMP
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Marer Collection, Scripps College, 92.1.115
Photo: TMP
Photo: TMP

Citation: "The Marks Project." Last modified July 14, 2023. http://www.themarksproject.org/marks/takemoto