Henry Tadaaki Takemoto

1930Born Honolulu, Hawai'i

2015 Died

EDUCATION

1957BFA University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii

1959MFA Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles, California

     Takemoto’s early ceramic sculptures were often large constructions, influenced by  the work of Peter Voulkos. His large-scale vessel forms taxed the capacities of the material and form. He used surface decoration, often reflecting his Hawaiian heritage, to enhance and reinforce the vessel form. Typically a white engobe was applied to a brown ground adding quick brush strokes in either blue or deep red.

Henry Takemoto moved to Southern California in the early 1950s to study under Peter Voulkos at Otis Art Institute. Under Voulkos' direction Takemoto, along with John Mason and Paul Soldner, became part of the California clay revolution. 

Takemoto was influenced by Picasso’s ceramic designs and covered his pieces with organic patterns and shapes that were painted and/or incised. His work referenced Abstract Expressionist painting and traditional Asian ceramics. At the beginning of the 1970s, he focused on teaching and designing for industrial production. He was on the faculty of San Francisco Art Institute, Montana State University, California, State College Scripps College, and Claremont College Graduate School.