VCA exhibits work by former island resident and renowned ceramic artist

Published 1:30 am Thursday, April 28, 2022

When renowned ceramic artist Akio Takamori and his wife, Vicky, first landed on Vashon in 1988, it was by happenstance.

They were looking outside Seattle for a rural place to live, where Takamori could build a salt kiln, and discovered the island only because the ferry from Southworth stopped there. Yet, what they found made them stay.

“He liked the environment and the chance to be a fulltime studio artist,” Vicky recalled, adding that they quickly discovered other artists living on Vashon. The couple and their two children lived on the island until 1993, when Takamori joined the faculty at the University of Washington.

“It was a very productive time for him, and I think some of his best pieces were made on Vashon,” she said. “Mary Robinson, Joanne Hammer, Eric Nelsen, Victoria Adams and Art Hanson all turned out to be our neighbors and friends. Akio was part of the Vashon Allied Arts Studio Tour in 1989. He always welcomed whoever was interested to his studio and was never shy to talk about his work in process.”

Fast forward to last fall when three island potters, Mary Robinson, Jane Neubauer and Marla Smith, approached Vashon Center for the Arts Gallery Director Lynann Politte about exhibiting their friend’s work. Politte readily agreed.

“It is amazing who lands on Vashon,” she said. “There are significant artists who come and go, and some who come and stay. This show is an example of Vashon’s history as an arts cultural community. Akio’s show is titled ‘Time’ — about his time here, but also his time as a celebrated artist.”

The show is slated to open in the VCA Gallery at 6 p.m. Friday, May 6.

While not a retrospective, the exhibit, curated by his wife, will be an overview of work by the Japanese-American artist who died in 2017, at the age of 67, of pancreatic cancer.

On display and for sale will be prints made throughout his career; ceramics courtesy of his Seattle gallery, James Harris; and pieces from Vicky’s private collection that relate to his time on Vashon.

Takamori grew up on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu. Influences in his artwork hail back to post World War II Japan and a childhood home full of aunts and uncles, and nurses from his father’s medical clinic, which was attached to the house.He often met his father’s patients and spoke with the young nurses, who told him folk tales and legends from their farming villages.

The variety of people he saw, and the folk stories he heard, imprinted on his young mind. The family’s library of medical texts and books about Western and Japanese art, particularly the ukiyo-e woodblock prints, were another source of inspiration. Printmaking became an integral part of his life’s work, and the influence of the ukiyo-e can be seen in his later prints and ceramic pieces, some of which will be shown at VCA.

“Several of the prints will include a process where a photograph is taken of a ceramic piece and then turned into a lithograph printed on paper. In a second process, there is some hand drawing,” Vicky said. “I considered his ability to draw as pretty phenomenal.”

From printmaking to drawing, thrown pottery, slabs, small and larger than life-size figures plus ceramic landscapes, Takamori’s range of work is vast and can be found in galleries and museum collections in Europe, Japan, China, New York and Seattle.

A vibrant example, “Three Women,” is comprised of three, large-scale figures that tower over shoppers as they enter the Whole Foods market at Westlake Avenue and Denny Way in Seattle.

Another piece, “Willy B,” is at the Seattle Art Museum. The poignant sculpture depicts German Chancellor Willy Brandt kneeling before a Polish monument dedicated to Holocaust victims. It was part of Takamori’s last show before his death, “Apology/Remorse.”

“‘That show was based on how we apologize as individuals and society,” Vicky said. “It was different than expected, but that was what Akio did, he never rested on his past work. He reflected on the human condition and was curious. Curiosity and his work ethic were his greatest strengths.”

It was, perhaps, those very strengths that fueled his evolution as an artist and teacher. Leaving behind the daily tradition of throwing hundreds of mingei (folk art) teacups as an apprentice at Kumao Oota Pottery in Koishiwara, Japan, Takamori moved to the United States, where he graduated from Kansas City Art Institute and received his Master of Fine Arts from Alfred University.

He taught for more than 20 years as a tenured faculty member of the University of Washington School of Art and continued to explore his artistic expression for more than 30 years, winning numerous awards and exhibiting in many solo shows.

“He made an amazing amount of pieces,” Vicky said. “I remember he was frustrated by the necessary pause needed to let the clay harden. He’d go to the studio even when he was teaching. He worked fast and hard — it was his daily work.”

Also at VCA is a lecture with art historian Barbara Johns, Patti Warashina and Vicky Takamori, “Bringing Life to Clay”, held at 2 p.m. Saturday,May 7. They will share stories of Akio’s life and work as an artist, colleague, friend, husband and father.

This partner event is co-sponsored by Mukai Farm & Garden. These events are part of a three organization celebration of Akio Takamori and clay on Vashon presented by Vashon Heritage Museum, Mukai Farm & Garden, and Vashon Center for the Arts.