Toshiko Takaezu was an American ceramic artist and painter. She was born to Japanese immigrant parents in Pepeekeo, Hawaii, in 1922. She studied at the Honolulu Museum of Art and the University of Hawaii under Claude Horan from 1948–51.
From 1951–54, Takaezu continued her studies at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where she befriended Finnish ceramist Maija Grotell, who became her mentor. In 1955, Takaezu traveled to Japan, where she studied Buddhism, visited Shoji Hamada and observed the techniques of traditional Japanese pottery, which continued to influence her work. She taught for 10 years at the Cleveland Institute of Art, and then from 1967–92, she taught at Princeton University, where she was awarded an honorary doctorate.
Takaezu retired in 1992 to become a studio artist, living and working in Quakertown, New Jersey, about 30 miles northwest of Princeton. In addition to her studio in New Jersey, Takaezu made many of her larger sculptures at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. She made functional wheel-thrown vessels early in her career. Later, she switched to abstract sculptures with freely applied poured and painted glazes.
In the early 1970s, when Takaezu didn’t have access to a kiln, she painted on canvas. Her work is part of the permanent collections at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, among many others.
Takaezu was the recipient of the Gold Medal of the American Craft Council and a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation grant. She lived in Hawaii for 10 years and died March 9, 2011, in Honolulu.
Find Toshiko Takaezu art for sale on 1stDibs.
(Biography provided by The Nevica Project LLC)
Glazed Ceramic Chawan Tea Bowl by Toshiko Takaezu
By Toshiko Takaezu
Located in Atlanta, GA
A small elegant glazed ceramic tea bowl (chawan) by Japanese American artist Toshiko Takaezu (American, 1922 - 2011). The well-balanced form is hand built and shows just a slight irr...
Ceramic
Glazed Ceramic Bowl Chawan Toshiko Takaezu
By Toshiko Takaezu
Located in Atlanta, GA
A ceramic bowl by Japanese American artist Toshiko Takaezu (American, 1922 - 2011). The deep form bowl is of the typical form of Chawan and features a wheel-turned body supported by ...
Ceramic
Large Ceramic Glazed Vase in Cachepot Form by Toshiko Takaezu
By Toshiko Takaezu
Located in Atlanta, GA
A large glazed ceramic vase circa 1978 made by Japanese American artist Toshiko Takaezu (American, 1922 - 2011). Toshiko's work was heavily influenced by the Japanese ceramic traditi...
Ceramic
$1,795
H 3.5 in W 5.75 in D 5.6 in
Tashiko Tazaezu Signed Japanese Hawaiian Studio Pottery Glazed Chawan Tea Bowl
By Toshiko Takaezu
Located in Studio City, CA
A beautiful and quite engaging sumptuously glazed relatively large Chawan tea bowl by famed Japanese Hawaiian American pottery master Toshiko Takaezu. The fired bowl features a drip ...
Pottery, Stoneware
Brilliant Clog-Form Ceramic Tea Bowl by Toshiko Takaezu
By Toshiko Takaezu
Located in Atlanta, GA
One of the most beautiful ceramic tea bowls (chawan) by Japanese American artist Toshiko Takaezu (American, 1922 - 2011) we have handled. The hand-built bowl, with its waist tucked i...
Ceramic
$1,795
H 2.75 in W 4.25 in D 4 in
Tashiko Tazaezu Signed Japanese Hawaiian Studio Pottery Glazed Chawan Tea Bowl
By Toshiko Takaezu
Located in Studio City, CA
A beautiful and quite engaging Chawan tea bowl by famed Japanese Hawaiian American pottery master Toshiko Takaezu. The fired bowl features a vast array of shifting, vibrant, and colo...
Earthenware, Pottery
Ceramic Closed-Form Moon Pot by Toshiko Takaezu
By Toshiko Takaezu
Located in Atlanta, GA
A ceramic closed-form pot by Japanese American artist Toshiko Takaezu (American, 1922 - 2011), circa 1980-1990s. The moon pot takes a near perfect rounded form. It has small sprout w...
Ceramic
$1,995
H 2.75 in W 5 in D 4.9 in
Tashiko Tazaezu Signed Japanese Hawaiian Studio Pottery Glazed Chawan Tea Bowl
By Toshiko Takaezu
Located in Studio City, CA
A beautiful and quite engaging sumptuously glazed Chawan tea bowl by famed Japanese Hawaiian American pottery master Toshiko Takaezu. The fired bowl features a vast array of shifting...
Earthenware, Pottery
$1,795
H 2.5 in W 5 in D 4.25 in
Tashiko Tazaezu Signed Japanese Hawaiian Studio Pottery Glazed Chawan Tea Bowl
By Toshiko Takaezu
Located in Studio City, CA
A beautiful and quite engaging sumptuously glazed Chawan tea bowl by famed Japanese Hawaiian American pottery master Toshiko Takaezu. The fired porcelain bowl features a vast array of dark-shifting, vibrant glazes (with muted earth tones of blacks, burnt yellows, and brown greens). It is a unique and one-of-a-kind work. The bowl is signed on the base with her traditional "TT" mark/ monogram. A rare and special piece. Would be a great addition to any collectors of Toshiko's work or other Mid-Century Modern...
Porcelain, Pottery
Ceramic Moon Pot with Salt Firing and Rattle by Toshiko Takaezu
By Toshiko Takaezu
Located in Atlanta, GA
A ceramic closed-form pot with rattle by Japanese American artist Toshiko Takaezu (American, 1922 - 2011) circa 1980s. The wheel-thrown closed-form pot features a a nearly perfect sp...
Ceramic
Rare Untitled Pink Vase (INV# NP5098) by Toshiko Takaezu
By Toshiko Takaezu
Located in Morton Grove, IL
Untitled Pink Vase (INV# NP5098) Toshiko Takaezu white stoneware and glaze 5 x 5.75 x 5.75” date unknown signed TT
Ceramic, Glaze
Rare Closed Form by Toshiko Takaezu
By Toshiko Takaezu
Located in Morton Grove, IL
A VERY EARLY UNTITLED YELLOW CLOSED FORM (INV# NP5476)! Toshiko Takaezu porcelain and glaze 5.5 × 6 × 6” 1968 signed Toshiko Takaezu (June 17, 1922 – March 9, 2011) was an American...
Stoneware, Glaze
Closed Form by Toshiko Takaezu (INV# NP3927)
By Toshiko Takaezu
Located in Morton Grove, IL
Toshiko Takaezu Closed Form (INV# NP3927) 4.5 x 5 x 5" date unknown signed by artist Toshiko Takaezu (June 17, 1922 – March 9, 2011) was an American ceramic artist and painter. She ...
Glaze, Porcelain
Teardrop Vessel by Beatrice Wood (INV# NP4054)
By Beatrice Wood
Located in Morton Grove, IL
Beatrice Wood Teardrop Vessel (INV# NP4045) stoneware and glaze 6.25 x 4.5" signed by artist
Stoneware, Glaze
Luster Vessel by Beatrice Wood (INV# NP4055)
By Beatrice Wood
Located in Morton Grove, IL
Beatrice Wood Luster Vessel (INV# NP4055) stoneware and luster 4.75 x 6.25 signed by artist
Luster, Stoneware, Glaze
Cream Calabash by Michael Frimkess (INV# NP3996)
By Magdalena and Michael Frimkess
Located in Morton Grove, IL
Michael Frimkess Cream Calabash (INV# NP3996) stoneware and glaze 8.5 x 5" date unknown provenance - The Nevica Project Magdalena Suarez Frimkess and Michael Frimkess began workin...
Stoneware, Glaze
Get to know the innovators behind the pottery countercultural revolution.
The nonspeaking California artist is having a moment, with vivacious paintings that play on art-magazine covers as well as more mysterious abstractions.
