Akio Takamori (1950 – 2017) was a Japanese-American ceramic sculptor and educator. Takamori often incorporates human forms into his creations.[1]
Akio Takamori | |
---|---|
Born | Nobeoka, Japan | October 11, 1950
Died | January 11, 2017 | (aged 66)
Nationality | Japanese-American |
Education | Musashino Art University, Kansas City Art Institute, Alfred University |
Known for | Ceramic sculpture |
Website | akiotakamori |
Takamori was born in Nobeoka, Miyazaki, Japan on October 11, 1950.[2][3] In Japan Takamori attended Musashino Art University.[4] In 1974 he moved to the United States. He attended the Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) and Alfred University.[5] In 1993 Takamori began his teaching career at the University of Washington where he taught until he retired in 2014 as professor emeritus.[6][7] In 2001 Takamori received a Virginia A. Groot Foundation Award.[8] In 2006 Takamori became a Fellow of the American Craft Council.[7] The same year he was awarded a Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant.[9]
Takamori died on January 11, 2017, in Seattle, Washington.[2][3]
His work is in the collection of the Carnegie Museum of Art,[10] the Los Angeles County Museum of Art,[11] the Museum of Arts and Design,[12] the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art,[13] the Victoria and Albert Museum,[14] His work, Alice with Rose, was acquired by the Smithsonian American Art Museum as part of the Renwick Gallery's 50th Anniversary Campaign.[15][16]
In 2000 the Racine Art Museum held a retrospective of his work.[5] In 2022 the Vashon Center for the Arts held a retrospective of his work.[17]