
Paul Smith
Toshiko Takaezu (1922 – 2011) in Her Studio, Quakerstown, NJ, ca. 1985, printed 2016
Archival digital inkjet printer
Racine Art Museum, Gift of the Artist
It’s Like Poetry: Building a Toshiko Takaezu Archive at RAM
August 2, 2019 – July 14, 2020
Windows on Fifth Gallery at Racine Art Museum
RAM’s archive now numbers over 30 works, including Toshiko Takaezu’s (1922–2011) most expansive grouping, the installation comprised of 14 “human-sized” forms, the Star Series. Significantly, the museum’s holdings span the range of Takaezu’s working career—with a double-spouted pot from the 1950s being the earliest and the Star Series (1999–2000) being the latest. There are also drawings and prints—works with forms that echo the shapes of Takaezu’s three-dimensional pieces while also reflecting her sensitivity to shape and color. This exhibition features small bowls, toasting goblets, platters, two-foot high closed pieces, and large spheres created over several decades of the artist’s career, which is on view in the unique, street-facing gallery space.
While unassuming in her disposition, Takaezu was a bona fide ceramic superstar. She created work—paintings, prints, fiber, and cast bronze in addition to her well-known ceramic pieces of varying sizes—that embodied a poetic balance between art and life. RAM has been acquiring a range of pieces by Takaezu—from individual forms to multi-part installations—and establishing an archive that documents this significant artist who pushed the boundaries of clay in the late twentieth century.
Takaezu was inspired by nature and the environment, noting the early influence of her home state, Hawaii. She combined this with an interest in color and surface—her signature Makaha blue (a rich blue) being one of many tones she used. She was an artist in tune with concepts of balance and harmony—interior/exterior, planning/unpredictability, calm/tense, large/small.
More About the Exhibition
It’s Like Poetry: Building a Toshiko Takaezu Archive at RAM
August 2, 2019 – July 14, 2020
Windows on Fifth Gallery at Racine Art Museum

Paul Smith
Toshiko Takaezu (1922 – 2011) in Her Studio, Quakerstown, NJ, ca. 1985, printed 2016
Archival digital inkjet printer
Racine Art Museum, Gift of the Artist
RAM’s archive now numbers over 30 works, including Toshiko Takaezu’s (1922–2011) most expansive grouping, the installation comprised of 14 “human-sized” forms, the Star Series. Significantly, the museum’s holdings span the range of Takaezu’s working career—with a double-spouted pot from the 1950s being the earliest and the Star Series (1999–2000) being the latest. There are also drawings and prints—works with forms that echo the shapes of Takaezu’s three-dimensional pieces while also reflecting her sensitivity to shape and color. This exhibition features small bowls, toasting goblets, platters, two-foot high closed pieces, and large spheres created over several decades of the artist’s career, which is on view in the unique, street-facing gallery space.
While unassuming in her disposition, Takaezu was a bona fide ceramic superstar. She created work—paintings, prints, fiber, and cast bronze in addition to her well-known ceramic pieces of varying sizes—that embodied a poetic balance between art and life. RAM has been acquiring a range of pieces by Takaezu—from individual forms to multi-part installations—and establishing an archive that documents this significant artist who pushed the boundaries of clay in the late twentieth century.
Takaezu was inspired by nature and the environment, noting the early influence of her home state, Hawaii. She combined this with an interest in color and surface—her signature Makaha blue (a rich blue) being one of many tones she used. She was an artist in tune with concepts of balance and harmony—interior/exterior, planning/unpredictability, calm/tense, large/small.
More About the Exhibition
Gallery of Work
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Exhibitions at RAM are made possible by:
Platinum Sponsors
The Estate of Karen Johnson Boyd
David Charak
Judith and David Flegel Fund
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Ron and Judith Isaacs
Nicholas and Nancy Kurten
Windgate Foundation
Diamond Sponsors
City of Racine’s Grow Racine Grant
Osborne and Scekic Family Foundation
Ruffo Family Foundation
Ruth Arts Foundation
Gold Sponsors
Anonymous
Tom and Irene Creecy
Richard and Patricia Ehlert
Herzfeld Foundation
Reliance Controls
Ruth Foundation for the Arts
Trio Foundation of St. Louis
W.T. Walker Group, Inc.
Wisconsin Arts Board
Silver Sponsors
Anonymous
Art Bridges
Baird
A.C. Buhler Family
Lucy G. Feller
Ben and Dawn Flegel
Jim Harris
Sharon and Tom Harty
Lise Iwon
J. Jeffers & Co.
Johnson Financial Group
Dorothy MacVicar
Jan Serr and John Shannon
Bronze Sponsors
Ellen and Joseph Albrecht
Andis Foundation
Susan Boland
Virginia Buhler
Butcher & Barrel/Amos Los Tacos
Educators Credit Union
Express Employment Professionals
Tony and Andrea Hauser
Bill and Debbie Keland
Susan Manalli
Jean and Alex Mandli, Jr.
The Prairie School
Cathy Stanghellin
Georgiana Treivush
Twin Disc, Inc.