FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TOSHIKO TAKAEZU

New Works

June 7 - July 18, 1997

The Charles Cowles Gallery is pleased to announce an exhibition of recent works by TOSHIKO TAKAEZU from June 7 through July 18, 1997. The Gallery is located at 420 West Broadway between Prince and Spring Streets. In June, the hours are Tuesday through Saturday 10am until 6pm; in July they are Monday through Friday 10am to 5pm.

In this, her first show at the Charles Cowles Gallery since 1992, TOSHIKO TAKAEZU will be exhibiting her signature closed form ceramic works, including monumental six- to seven-feet tall pieces and earthy, raw-fired Anagama. TAKAEZU, raised in Hawaii of Japanese descent, has been working with clay for over four decades, and her work reflects the combined traditions of Eastern and Western technique and aesthetic. Following her studies at Cranbrook in the 1950s, she has regularly exhibited her ceramic pieces while steadily evolving her forms from utilitarian vessels to more minimal sculptural works. TAKAEZU's work ranges from breathtaking understatement to expressive excitement while remaining fundamentally consistent in its Zen-like simplicity. A master of glazing, she will exhibit a series of stunning deep-blue closed forms, which rival the intensity of an Yves Klein painting.

Since her recent retirement after 25 years of teaching at Princeton, TAKAEZU continues to create some of her most vital and creative work. Her work is included in numerous museum collections including The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, The Smithsonian Institution, The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the National Museum in Bangkok, Thailand. Among her many honors, she has been named a Living Treasure of Hawaii, received the Human Treasure Award from the University of North Carolina, and has been awarded several honorary doctorates for her lifetime work.

TOSHIKO TAKAEZU is currently the subject of a major retrospective exhibition organized by The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan, which has traveled extensively throughout Japan and the United States. It is scheduled to open at the American Craft Museum on June 26th, and will run until October 12th. The Museum is located at 40 West 43rd Street in New York City (212/956-3535).

For further information or photographs please contact the gallery at 212/925-3500.