The largest retrospective ever devoted to the artist, ‘Toshiko Takaezu: Worlds Within’ features approximately 200 works in ceramics, weaving, painting, bronze casting, and printmaking from public and private collections across the country.
This chronological retrospective charts the development of Toshiko Takaezu’s (1922–2011) hybrid practice over six decades, documenting her early student work in Hawai‘i and at the Cranbrook Academy of Art through her years teaching at the Cleveland Institute of Art and later at Princeton University. To represent this evolution, the show presents a series of installations loosely inspired by ones that Takaezu created in her own lifetime: from a set table of functional wares from the early 1950s to an immersive constellation of monumental ceramic forms from the late 1990s to early 2000s.
The exhibition includes a vast collection of ceramic sculptures including her signature “closed forms,” Moons, Garden Seats, Trees, and select monumental works from her late masterpiece, the Star Series. It also features a broad selection of her vibrant and gestural acrylic paintings and weavings, many of which have rarely been seen, as well as a bronze bell.
‘Worlds Within’ also explores the hidden element of sound in many of Takaezu’s closed forms through video recordings by sound artist and exhibition co-curator Leilehua Lanzilotti. These “closed form etudes” demonstrate the ceramic forms’ interior “rattles” – small bits of clay dropped into the vessel before firing which transform the works into simple but evocative instruments. A guided touch experience is also offered daily at 3 pm, allowing visitors to hold and sound a selection of these works.
To coincide with the exhibition, The Noguchi Museum has published a new monograph in association with Yale University Press. Also titled ‘Toshiko Takaezu: Worlds Within,’ it represents the most ambitious monograph on an American ceramic artist to date.
The retrospective is organized by The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum with assistance from the Toshiko Takaezu Foundation and the Takaezu family. It is co-curated by art historian Glenn Adamson, Noguchi Museum Curator Kate Wiener, and composer and sound artist Leilehua Lanzilotti. The exhibition was conceived and developed with former Noguchi Museum Senior Curator Dakin Hart. Following its presentation at The Noguchi Museum, the exhibition will travel to several additional venues across the United States.
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