Michio Takayama

Michio Takayama (1903-1994) was a painter committed to his art first and foremost. He expressed his vision of both inner beauty and physical majesty in richly-layered, vibrant abstract paintings.

Born in turn-of-the-century rural Japan and educated to carry on the family business, Michio was an unlikely Taoseño.

But through his unwavering commitment to his art, and a series of serendipitous circumstances, Michio found Taos, a place that reflected the vastness of his mind and heart and a place where he could express himself completely with his palette knife and brushes.

biography project | events | collections

Michio Takayama Retrospective: Catalog

For the Michio Takayama Retrospective at the Harwood Museum of Art in Taos, New Mexico. September 23 - December 30, 2005.

Essays by Masami Takayama and Wako Takayama. Foreward by David L. Witt, former curator of the Harwood Museum of Art.

paperback, "10.5 x 12", 82 pages, 27 color plates, ISBN: 0976252317

$30.00 (+ $10 shipping/handling; tax to CA address)

Michio Takayama
"Color and Serenity"

January 6 - February 24, 2007

The Gallery at 6th & 6th
Tucson, Arizona

439 N. 6th Avenue :: (520) 903-0650 www.sixthandsixth.com

January 4, 4:00 to 7:00pm
Opening Reception

January 7, 2:00pm
Wine and Cheese Reception

Art Talk by David L. Witt, former curator of the Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, New Mexico

Biography Project

Wako Takayama, Michio's granddaughter, researched the life and art of her grandfather. She presented a paper at the Southwest Art History Conference and wrote an essay in the Retrospective Catalog.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the project.

Wako can be reached at mtaka (at) wakotakayama.com

Events

Michio Takayama: A Retrospective

September 23 - December 30, 2005
The Harwood Museum of Art, Scott Gallery
Taos, New Mexico

The exhibition includes a representative sample of 30 major paintings by artist the artist. Takayama (1903-1994), Japanese by birth, moved to the United States in 1956 and became a resident of Taos in 1966. He expressed his visions of both inner beauty and physical majesty in richly-layered, vibrant abstract paintings. catalog available

Michio Takayama: Interpreting Europe

Studies on Paper & Oil Paintings
October 17 - November 10, 2001
Michael McCormick Gallery , Taos, New Mexico

Michio Takayama: Works on Paper, TAOS 1966-1969

October 27 - November 18, 2000
Michael McCormick Gallery, Taos, New Mexico

Untitled, mixed media on paper, 14" x 17" These works capture Takayama's first impressions of Taos in the late 1960s. A group of drawings from this period is in the collection of the Harwood Museum of the University of New Mexico.
Takayama works on paper were presented for public sale for the first time.

Michio Takayama: Tokyo to Taos

Paper presented at the Southwest Art History Conference (SWAHC)
Fechin Inn, Taos, New Mexico, October 14, 1999

TAOS: Michio Takayama, Drawings from 1966-1969

May 30 - July 25, 1999
The Harwood Museum , Taos, New Mexico

catalog, 6.5" x 8.25"
Michio Takayama drawings to be shown at the Harwood
Taos News, May 27, 1999

Collections

Museum and private collections that contain works by Michio Takayama include the following:

Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Harwood Museum, Taos, New Mexico

Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Old Jail Art Center, Albany, Texas

Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, California

Rockwell Museum, Corning, New York

Roswell Museum, Roswell, New Mexico

U. S. Bancorp (formerly Midland Savings Bank)

Chiba Prefectural Art Museum, Chiba, Japan

Saitama Prefectural Modern Art Museum, Urawa City, Japan