The Toshiko Takaezu Archive Debuts at RAM

While a perennial favorite among artists working in clay and an artist whose work has been collected by North American museums since the 1950s, Toshiko Takaezu (1922-2011) has recently been pushed into the spotlight. Takaezu is being applauded by those who marvel at what she accomplished with her chosen materials, sometimes making sculpture that was as tall as she was, and by those who appreciate her love of nature and the environment or her ability to find balance and harmony as a person and an artist.

For several decades, RAM has been acquiring work by Takaezu, ranging from early functional pieces to her trademark closed forms and moons to landmark multi-piece groupings. With an archive of nearly 125 works, RAM has the honor of documenting this significant artist who pushed the boundaries of clay and drew no distinctions between the handwork of making a pot and the handwork of daily life such as cooking or gardening. This exhibition features major works, such as Gaea and the highly acclaimed Star Series, that are returning after a two-year nationwide tour, as well as never before seen at RAM pieces. By all accounts, Takaezu’s holdings at RAM comprise the largest collection of her work in a North American institution but, most importantly, they reflect a singular voice who helped expand the potential of a material not always associated with artistic vision.

Exhibition Notes (PDF)

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Platinum Partners—Anonymous, The Estate of Karen Johnson Boyd, Ron and Judith Isaacs, Racine Community Foundation, The Estate of Marilyn Rothschild, Windgate Foundation; Diamond Partners—David Charak, Ruffo Family Foundation, Ruth Arts Foundation, Travel Wisconsin, Diane Zebell; Gold Partners—Judith and David Flegel Fund, Osborne and Scekic Family Foundation, Reliance Controls Community Fund, W.T. Walker Group, Inc.; Silver Partners—Anonymous, Anonymous, Bader Philanthropies, Baird, A.C. Buhler Family, Dave’s Wine Garage, Paula and E.L. Donovitz Memorial Endowment Fund, Ben and Dawn Flegel, Tom Harty, Horizon Retail Construction, Inc., Johnson Financial Group, Robert E. Kohler Jr. Fund, Luanne Frey and Mark Lukow, Sheri and Frank Sullivan, Visit Racine County, We Energies Foundation, Wisconsin Arts Board; Bronze Partners—Sandy and Gus Antonneau, Carol Baylon, Susan Boland, Rose and Peter Christensen, Educators Credit Union, Julia Ann Oas and Don Gloo, Carol Griseto, Hitters Baseball, Debbie and Chuck Hoffman, Susan and Dan Horton, Gary Van Wert and Ronald Jacquart, SC Johnson, Paula Kalke, Bill and Debbie Keland, Nancy Kurten, Susan Manalli, Norbell Foundation, O&H Danish Bakery, Rita Petretti, Rasmussen Diamonds, Harold and Lois Solberg, E.C. Styberg Foundation, Twin Disc, Marc J. Wollman, Amy and Robb Woulfe; Media Sponsor—Radio Milwaukee