Akio Takamori

Russo Lee Gallery is pleased to exhibit Story, a collection of sculpture by Seattle artist Akio Takamori (1950–2017). As the show title implies, Takamori, working primarily in painted ceramic sculpture, creates the opportunity to find narrative in his creations. The artist is known for redefining figuration in clay, often addressing a search for identity in an increasingly global reality. This exhibition is comprised of both free-standing and grouped pieces, including two sets of 18 forms with images of children, each elegant and individual.

Akio Takamori was born and raised in Japan. He exhibited in the United States, Europe, and Asia since the mid 1980s. Takamori received his BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1976 and his MFA from the New York State College of Ceramics, Alfred University in 1978. Takamori’s work is included in numerous collections including the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Los Angels County Museum of Art, Victoria & Albert Museum in London, Ariana Museum in Geneva, the Seattle Art Museum, and the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including three National Endowment for the Arts Visual Artists Fellowship Grants (1986, 1988, 1992), the Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant (2006), and the USA Ford Fellowship (2011). Takamori was a professor of art at the University of Washington. He lived and worked in Seattle.