Nakamura Takuo

  • Exhibitions

  • biography

    Nakamura Takuo lives in Kanazawa, a culturally rich city located on the Sea of Japan. In his work, he attempts to link the traditions of three hundred year-old Kutani ware with a modern sense of form. He works in multi-layered structures revealing his understanding in both traditional and contemporary aspects of technique, form, and design.

    “I was born the second son of a potter in Kanazawa in 1945. After working in the business sector for a while, I returned to the ceramic training of my youth and apprenticed with my father, Baizan II in 1981. At the beginning, I often participated in juried public exhibitions. Since 1991, I have held my own thematic solo exhibitions, hoping that the stimulating relationship between the artist and the user will continue. I consider that the true completion of any vessel is derived through the creative implementation on the part of the user.”

    1945 Born in Kanazawa
    1978 Studied under his father, Nakamura Baizan
    1995 Studied under Aldo Rontini, at the National Faenza Ceramic Art School in Italy
    2000 Commissioned art director for the permanent installations of ceramic art by the River Retreat Garaku, Toyama
    2001 Commissioned supervisor for new tea houses “Mushi-an” and “Kaihou-ken” by the River Retreat Garaku, Toyama (Architect: Naito Hiroshi)
    2004 In collaboration with Wedgewood, created “Japanesque” series in England
    2007 Artist-in-residence at Taipei County Yingge Ceramics Museum, Taiwan
    2008 Workshop at Art Biotop Niki Club, Nasu, Tochigi
    Lectured at Kanazawa College of Art; Kyoto Seika University; Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu; Museum of Ceramic Art, Hyogo
    2009 Lectured at Sogō Art Museum, Yokohama; Shizuoka Art Gallery; Hagi Uragami Museum

    Awards:

    1993 Workshop Collection, Shigaraki Ceramic Park, Shiga

    Selected Public Collections:

    Art Institute of Chicago, IL
    Garaku Retreat, Toyama
    Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
    21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa

  • Nakamura Takuo

    Nakamura Takuo

  • bio pt 1

    bio pt 1

    Born 1945, Kanazawa, Japan

    NAKAMURA TAKUO lives in Kanazawa, a culturally rich city located on the Sea of Japan. In his work, he attempts to link the traditions of three-hundred-year-old kutani ware with a modern approach. His multi-layered structures reveal his deep understanding of both traditional and contemporary techniques, form, and design. The rinpa aesthetics of Edo Period painting and decorative arts have had a profound impact on Nakamura’s own highly personalized artistic vocabulary, most clearly in terms of color, pattern, theme, and sense of space.

  • bio pt 2

    bio pt 2

    Selected Public Collections:

    Art Institute of Chicago, IL           
    Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA
    Cincinnati Art Museum, OH
    Dayton Art Institute, OH
    Garaku Retreat, Toyama, Japan
    Gardiner Museum, Toronto, Canada
    Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
    The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, CA
    Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, MI
    Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA
    Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
    Minneapolis Institute of Art, MN
    Museum of Fine Arts Boston, MA
    National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan
    21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan
    Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA
    Ritz-Carlton, Tokyo, Azure, Japan
    San Antonio Museum of Art, TX
    Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA
    Tokyo Kaikan, Installation on Wall, Japan

  • pull quote

    pull quote

    “Although the second son of a Kanazawa potter, born in 1945, I initially chose to work in the business sector. However, I soon felt compelled to return to the ceramic training of my childhood, and in 1978, I apprenticed with my father, Baizan II (1907-1997). At first, I competed in juried shows, but for the past two decades I have held my own thematic solo exhibitions. It is my hope that my work successfully initiates a dialogue between the artist and the eventual owner that continues with every use. I believe that the true completion of my work can only be accomplished through the creative implementation on the part of the user.”

    NAKAMURA TAKUO

  • video

  • pull quote

    An unquestionably adventurous ceramist, Nakamura Takuo boldly links the traditions of three-hundred-year old kutani ware with a modern sense of form. Creating multi-piece deconstructions of established forms, Nakamura continues to explore the balance between interior and exterior spaces.