Akio Takamori: New Work

Akio Takamori

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Akio Takamori: New Work November 8 – December 13, 2014

Cover Image:

Frank Lloyd Gallery, Inc.

White Woman, 2014

2525 Michigan Avenue, B5b

12 ½ × 10 ½ × 12 ½ inches

Santa Monica, CA 90404

mold-blown glass with oil paint

PH: 310 264 - 3866

ceramic base

FX: 310 264 - 3868

Made at the Museum of Glass, Tacoma, Washington

www.franklloyd.com 3

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Akio Takamori: New Work the expressions of each face.

The Frank Lloyd Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of Akio Takamori: New Work. While Takamori is most well-known for his figurative ceramics, the sculptures in this show come from a series of works in glass produced by Takamori during his visiting artist residency at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington. To prepare himself for this residency, the artist studied historical glass including Roman vases and bottle forms, as well as Egyptian alabaster sculpture.

Born in Nobeoka, Miyazaki, Japan in 1950, Takamori began his ceramic studies as an apprentice to a master-folk potter in Koishiwara, producing identical pieces in a factory setting. After his move to the United States in 1974, Takamori began developing a cross-cultural blend of imagery, in sculptures that have been predominantly figurative since the 1990s.

The figures that Takamori produces draw on his memories of growing up in postwar Japan and also reference paintings by Old Masters, Greek mythology, and history. Suzanne Beal of Art in America wrote in 2009 that, “being raised in Japan and coming of age in the U.S gave Takamori a dual perspective, and his work often embraces the tension of “otherness,” the collision of present and past.”

After sculpting the works in clay, the artist created plaster molds of heads and sleeping figures, which were then cast in glass. The completed forms were painted in oil, allowing the artist to experiment with the translucency inherent in the material. As in his ceramic work, Takamori uses a painterly line to emphasize the subtle modeling of the forms, drawing out

© 2014 by Frank Lloyd Gallery

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Akio Takamori White Woman, 2014 mold-blown glass with oil paint ceramic base 12 ½ X 10 ½ X 12 ½ inches

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Akio Takamori White Man, 2014 mold-blown glass with oil paint ceramic base 12 ½ x 10 x 12 ½ inches

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Akio Takamori Black and White Woman, 2014 mold-blown glass with oil paint ceramic base 10 x 8 x 10 inches

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Akio Takamori Yellow Woman, 2014 mold-blown glass with oil paint ceramic base 10 ½ x 7 ½ x 10 inches

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Akio Takamori Blue Woman, 2014 mold-blown glass with oil paint ceramic base 10 ½ x 8 ½ x 9 ½ inches

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Akio Takamori Blue Boy, 2014 mold-blown glass with oil paint ceramic base 9 x 7 x 8 ½ inches

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Akio Takamori White Vase, 2014 16 x 11 x 10 inches mold-blown glass with oil paint ceramic base

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Akio Takamori White Sleeper Male, 2014 sand cast glass with oil paint, concrete 4 x 14 x 7 inches

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Akio Takamori Black Sleeper Female, 2014 sand cast glass with oil paint, concrete 4 ½ x 14 x 7 ½ inches

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Akio Takamori Black Sleeper Male, 2014 sand cast glass with oil paint, concrete 4 x 14 x 7 inches

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Akio Takamori Orange Sleeper, 2014 sand cast glass with oil paint, concrete 4 ½ x 14 x 7 ½ inches

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Akio Takamori Sleeper with Yellow Hair, 2014 sand cast glass with oil paint, concrete 5 x 13 x 6 inches

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Akio Takamori: New Work November 8 – December 13, 2014

Frank Lloyd Gallery, Inc. 2525 Michigan Avenue, B5b Santa Monica, CA 90404 PH: 310 264 - 3866 FX: 310 264 - 3868 www.franklloyd.com 20

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Frank Lloyd Gallery, Inc. 2525 Michigan Avenue, B5b Santa Monica, CA 90404 PH: 310 264 - 3866 FX: 310 264 - 3868 www.franklloyd.com

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