Michio Takayama

Michio Takayama (1903 - 1994)

Three Decades in Taos

Exhibition Dates: June 12th - August 15th, 2021 1335 Gusdorf Rd. Suite i, Taos, NM art@203fineart.com www.203FINEART.com 575.751.1262

INTRODUCTION Michio Takayama was 63 years old when he arrived and settled in Taos in 1967. Takayama embraced Taos, and the environment helped his work to flourish.

The artist fell in love with Taos, visiting in 1966 upon an invitation by a former student, Ann Merrill, whom he had met in Los Angeles, during his 8 years in the city.

Merill remembers Takayama’s awe in looking at the Taos Valley - he covered his eyes as if blinded by the magnificence of the vista. “It is difficult to describe in words the beauty of this valley at 7,000 ft; I can only say that I have never seen such a view”, Takayama wrote about Taos in a Japanese magazine.

Following his initial visit to Taos, Takayama received a grant from the Wurlitzer Foundation, and was the first artist to be in residence at the Wurlitzer for two years.

Freed from distraction, and painting daily, he entered a fertile period in his painting career. After his Wurlitzer residency, he built his home and studio with his son, an architect, in Cañon, on a street which was formerly named Takayama Way.

Serenity, 24 x 36”, oil on canvas Image 1

Immensity in Blue, 50 x 100”, oil on canvas Image 2

TAA group photo in front of Stables Gallery Photo credit: Curtis Schaafsma

Takayama was an active participant in the modern art scene as a Taos Artist’s Association member, exhibiting at the Stables Gallery alongside Earl Stroh, Cliff and Barbara Harmon, Robert C. Ellis, Robert Ray, Oli Sihvonen, Adeine de la Noe, John de Puy and other Taos Moderns.

By the time Takayama had relocated to the United States, he was already an established artist in Japan. He had left his career in banking, against his father’s wishes, to pursue painting full time. He studied with noted landscape painter and impressionist, Shin Kurihara, exhibited at the Nika Artist’s Association and received prestigious awards for his work, including a samurai sword presented by the Prime Minister, Tojo.

As recalled by his son Masami, Takayama would listen to Schubert and Puccini, as he contemplated the incomplete works on his easels. He never sat, always standing to apply a brushstroke, and then stepping back to assess his work from afar. He worked patiently, waiting for the layers of oil to dry in order to build layers of color and translucency through the act of sanding, in his distinctive style. As film director, George Cukor, stated, “His technique is achieved by the masterly refinement of layers of complementary colors skillfully overlapping each other and blending in a final effect of vibrant vitality. Every brush stroke, every scraping on the surface of his canvases is conducive to complete aesthetic satisfaction.”

Michio Takayama’s work has been exhibited internationally, and is in various important institutional and private collections, including the former Midland Federal Savings Art Collection, in Denver, Colorado, which was an important collection of works by the Taos Moderns. A retrospective of Takayama’s work was held in 2005 at the Harwood Museum of Art. The works presented in this exhibition include pieces from private collections, as well as institutional collections including the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation and from the Midland Federal Savings Bank.

Sources: Witt, David L., and Masami Takayama. “Michio Takayama: A Retrospective”. Edited by Wako Takayama, Fresco Fine Art Publications, 2005.

Witt, David L. “Modernists in Taos: From Dasburg to Martin”. Albuquerque: Red Crane Books, 2002.

Dream in my Mind, 50 x 44”, oil on canvas, 1983 Image 3

Hahonoge, 37 x 31”, oil on canvas Image 4

Joy Overflowing, 60 x 50”, oil on canvas, 1979 Image 5

Serenity, 13.19 x 9.5”, oil on canvas, c. 1970s Image 6

“Wedding of the Moon with the Mountains” is originally from the personal collection of Ann Merill, Takayama’s former student, who first invited him to visit Taos in 1966.

The painting is dated 1963, indicating that Takayama created the piece while he was living in Los Angeles. The title, though, is suggestive of the Taos area. Anyone who has seen a full moon night here, with the moonlight illuminating the ridges of the mountain ranges, may find a familiar power expressed through this piece.

Knowing how much inspiration Takayama found in Northern New Mexico’s landscape, we find this particular painting curious: while 1966 was Takayama’s first recorded visit to Taos, perhaps he had come earlier and been inspired to create this work?

Wedding of the Moon with the Mountains, 40 x 22”, oil on canvas, 1963 Image 7

Unknown Fable, 25 x 13”, oil on canvas, 1965 Image 8

Sky Song Red, 19 x 51”, oil on canvas, c. 1970s Image 9

Sun Dew Point, 51.75 x 45.75”, oil on linen, 1976 Image 10

“Sun Dew Point” was included in the Harwood Museum of Art’s 2005 Retrospective of Michio Takayama’s work, curated by then director, David Witt, and Michio Takayama’s son, Masami Takayama.

This luminous and hopeful painting seems to capture the sunlight of the high-desert in its straightforward clarity. This piece was one of three sun motif paintings included in the Retrospective, each in a different primary color - red, yellow, and blue.

It was stated in the Retrospective catalogue that when Takayama passed away in 1998, the remaining painting on his easel was a bright yellow canvas, reminiscent of his earlier paintings -including this one, which was created in 1976.

Invielno, 16 x 37”, oil on canvas, c. 1970s Image 11

My Childhood, 30 x 15”, oil on canvas Image 12

Mule, 10.75 x 9.5”, sumi ink on paper Image 13

Birth of Tempest, 36 x 30”, oil on canvas, c. 1970s Image 14

Carnival, 20 x 20”, oil on canvas Image 15

Glory, 22 x 20”, oil on canvas Image 16

Joy, 26 x 30”, oil on canvas, c. 1970s Image 17

Michio Takayama’s first painting instructor, Shin Kurihara, had studied with the French artist Andre Dunoyer de Segonzac. Kurihara created impressionistic landscapes with thick impasto brushstroke. The influence of this thick application of oil paint is clear in Takayama’s work, both his entirely non-objective pieces and his abstracted landscapes.

Paul Klee was one of Takayama’s favorite artists, and Takayama embraced his spontaneous approach. Klee’s influence is particularly evident in Takayama’s playful figurative work - childlike mythic characters emerging from their ground. It is also present in pieces like “Joy”, where the drawn composition suggests a scene without providing excess information.

“Joy” employs calligraphic markmaking, with the broad white strokes creating a figure that could almost be a symbol, yet defies symbolism. Takayama’s son, Masami, stated “Michio sometimes superimposed simple strong brushstrokes akin to Japanese calligraphy. Michio excelled in calligraphy; I believe it was his natural talent. Calligraphy is a form of art for which the composition is predetermined by the character. It is the art of how to do, not what to do.”

Untitled, 10.25 x 9” each, sumi ink on paper Image 18 & 19

Untitled, 10.25 x 9” each, sumi ink on paper Image 18 & 19

Untitled, 10.5 x 22”, mixed media on paper Image 20

Mythological Realm, 50 x 46”, oil on canvas, 1967 Image 21

Michio Takayama married Yaye Matsumoto in 1930, and throughout their life together, Yaye served as a major supporter, and critic, of his paintings. Their grandaughter, Wako, stated in her essay for the Harwood Museum of Art’s retrospective that Yaye’s approval was necessary in order for a painting of his to be considered complete. Her presence was invaluable in his studio, and she possessed a painterly sensibility.

Yaye was an artist herself, although she had never been formally trained. Some of her drawings, collected from the Takayama’s former home in Taos, are preserved in our collection, and pictured here.

Yaye Takayama, Untitled Drawings, 13 x 16”, oil pastel on paper Image 22 & 23

Fanntasia Romanesque, 36 x 40”, oil on canvas Image 24

June Bride, 30’’ x 24”, oil on canvas, c. 1970s Image 25

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