Koji Takei Catalog for 2013 exhibition

KOJI TAKEI HAND IN HAND

WILLIAM TURNER GALLERY BERGAMOT STATION ARTS CENTER 2525 MICHIGAN AVE., E-1 SANTA MONICA, CA 90404 P 310-453-0909 F 310-453-0908 www.williamturnergallery.com

KOJI TAKEI: HAND IN HAND Santa Monica, CA – William Turner Gallery is honored to present “Hand in Hand, an exhibition of new sculpture by Koji Takei.

In Hand in Hand, Takei reworks mostly found objects to provide an engagingly wry and witty commentary on the nature of relationships – complete with their humor, contradictions, paradoxes and ironies. Often re-forming the objects with a tongue-in-cheek subversion of their function, the sculptures become playful metaphors for the artist’s views on the nature of the objects and the relationships they may symbolize.

The elegance and attention to craft that characterize the sculptures draw clearly from the artist’s Japanese heritage and cultural sensibilities, but the humor and re-purposing of found objects are a pure strain of southern California’s assemblage tradition.

Born in Tokyo in 1955 Koji Takei lives and works in Los Angeles, California. He has taught at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, CA, Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, and at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. He is currently a faculty member at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. His art has been the subject of exhibitions at Laguna Art Museum in Laguna Beach and the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. This will be Takei’s fourth solo show at William Turner Gallery.

Another Feast, 2012, Wood & encaustic, 48� long

Closer & Closer, 2009 - 12, Found violins, 26 x 9.5 x 4�

CARAMEL, oil on linen, 60”x60”

Hand in Hand 2012, Wood & stain, 11 x 56.5 x 2.5”

Here for Me, 2012, Wood, rubber & stain, 49 x 14 x 2.5�

One on One, 2012, Stone, feathers, wood & stain, 26 x 32 x 2�

Ready Again, 2012, Metal, wood & stain, 13 x 11.5 x 1.5�

Side by Side, 2012, Wood & stain, 21 x 9.5 x 2�

Tree of Souls, 2012, Wood & stain, 40 x 18 x 3�

Two for One, 2012, Wood & stain, 16 x 21 x 2�

KOJI TAKEI: HAND IN HAND Birthplace

Tokyo, Japan Education 1978 B.F.A., California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA Solo Exhibitions 2013 “Hand in Hand”

William Turner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2010 “New Works”

William Turner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2008 “Isometry”

Robert Berman Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2006 “New Works”

Berman/Turner Projects, Santa Monica, CA 2004 “Mottosynthesis”

Robert Berman Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2003 “Staying Afloat”

Robert Berman Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2001 “Tools of the Trade”

Robert Berman Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2000 “Recent Works”

William Turner Gallery, Venice, CA 1997 Solo Exhibition

William Turner Gallery, Venice, CA 1994 “Musubitsuki”

George J. Doizaki Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Selected Group Exhibitions 2009 “Dreams to Dreams”

Japanese American National Museum. Los Angeles, CA 2007 “The Toy Show”

Hunsaker/Schlesinger Fine Art, Santa Monica, CA 2006 “Omage”

Track 16 Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2006 “Art of Design”

El Camino College, Los Angeles, CA 2002 “A Thousand Clowns”

Robert Berman Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2002 Group Exhibition

Debra Owen Gallery, San Diego, CA 2000 “Grace in Space”

College of the Canyons Gallery, Santa Clarita, CA 1995 “Primarily Small Works”

Hunsaker/Schlesinger Fine Art, Santa Monica, CA

1994 “Shapes of Things to Come”

Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA 1988 “American Japanese Artists”

George J. Doizaki Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

Awards 1987 Best of Show, Los Angeles Art Director’s Club 1982 Award of Excellence, Communication Arts 1981 Award of Excellence, American Institute of Graphic Arts 1981 Award of Excellence, Los Angeles Art Director’s Club 1981 Award of Excellence, New York Art Director’s Club

Academic Experiences 2003-present Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA 2010-2011 Academy of Art University, San Francisco, CA 2000-2007 Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, CA 1993-1994 Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles, CA 1984 California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA Selected Private Collections

Jan Adams, Pacific Palisades, CA

Annina Arthur, Palos Verdes, CA

Deborha Baroi, Pasadena, CA

Peter Behrendt, Beverly Hills, CA

Don Chavez, Burbank, CA

Elaine Comess, Los Angeles, CA

Darrell DeTienne, San Fransico, CA

Carol & Roy Doumani, Venice, CA

Joanna Drury, Encino, CA

Jeff Fields, Venice, CA

Mark Hasencamp, Los Angeles, CA

Bonnie Hughes, Stinson Beach, CA

Gary Jenkins, Laguna Beach, CA

Mitchell & Linda Katz, Newport Beach, CA

Mark Lieberman, Los Angeles, CA

Claudette Lussier, Los Angeles, CA

Ilene Marshall, Pasadena, CA

Hector & Lisa Martinez, Pasadena, CA

Kenneth Mirman, Malibu, CA

Jan & Gene Myers, Marina del Ray, CA

Richard Oppenheim, Agoura, CA

Anita Rosenstien, Beverly Hills, CA

Robert & Sherma Shelley, Arcadia, CA

Corrine Shukartsi, Los Angeles, CA

Marika van Adelsburg, Los Angeles, CA

Sarelyn Wager, Los Angeles, CA

Sue Wong, Los Angeles, CA

John Yzurdiaga, Playa del Ray, CA