Works by famed ceramicist Takaezu to be shown at BU

This is certainly one of the most significant art exhibits that BU has hosted in Haas Gallery. Rereading Karl Beamer's remembrance of his mentor reminded me of what an enduring contribution she made to the campus. The photo above was taken during a reception in 2008 when she spoke with faculty and students in 2008 and presented Bloomsburg with 19 of her works. Takaezu is second from left with Beamer sitting at her side. Art history professor Nogin Chung is on the right. —EGF. 

Ceramics by famed artist Toshiko Takaezu will be exhibited in BU’s Haas Gallery. The exhibit, running April 17 to May 1, will include 19 ceramic works that Takaezu gifted to the university. A reception for the show will be held Wednesday, April 17, from 4 to 7 p.m. Karl Beamer, professor emeritus of art and art history and a close friend of the late Takaezu, will give a lecture at 4:30 p.m.

Takaezu’s relationship with Bloomsburg University began in 1958 through a friendship with the late BU art department chair, Percival “Bob” Roberts. Her relationship continued through a friendship with Beamer, who was BU’s ceramics and sculpture professor. In addition to the many ceramic works she donated to the university, Takaezu cast the bronze bell, her first created in North America, which hangs in the Academic Quad outside the Andruss Library. She also donated a large painting by famed Japanese artist Sawada, which hangs in the lobby of Mitrani Hall. In addition to her contributions of art to BU, she visited campus many times to work and speak with students.

Takaezu’s ceramic art focused on poetic expression rather than practicality. She drew from nature, such as her vertical closed-form pieces modeled after the scorched trees along the Devastation Trail in Hawaii’s Volcanoes National Park. Her glazing technique, in which she brushed, dripped or poured color onto the clay, brought a spontaneous element to her work.

“I see no difference between making pots, cooking and growing vegetables,” Takaezu once said when asked about how art ingrates itself into everyday life.

Takaezu was born in Pepeekoo, Hawaii, in 1922, and died in March 2011. She studied at the University of Hawaii, Cranbrook Academy of Art and traveled to Japan to study Zen Buddhism. She taught at the Cleveland Institute of Art and at Princeton University. Her works are included in the permanent collections in many major art museums, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Smithsonian Institute.

This gallery exhibit is presented by the Museum Exhibition Class and is open to the public free of charge Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from noon to 2 p.m. For more information, contact gallery associate Rebecca Morgan at rmorgan@bloomu.edu or (570) 389-4708.

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