"Untitled" multi-media on paper by Takayama

Michio Takayama
drawings to be shown at Harwood

Exhibition of rare works
on paper by renowned
Taos artist was organized
by his son and granddaughter

Featured will be works on paper made by the artist during his years as a Taos artist.

The exhibition has been produced by the Chicago Institute for the Study of Architecture and Technology and is curated by the artist's son, Dr. Masami Takayama, who will be present at the opening. Also attending will be his granddaughter, Wako Takayama.

When Masami Takayama, an architect who is head of the Chicago Institute for the Study of Architecture and Technology, heard of the Harwood's desire to have an exhibit of his father's art, he pored through hundreds of his drawings, made during his early years in Taos. The artist, who almost exclusively showed works in oil on canvas, had never shown his drawings. This was an opportunity to display a different side to his art. From those, 30 individual works were chosen for the show.

Michio Takayama was a painter committed to his art first and foremost, who expressed his visions of both inner beauty and physical majesty in richly layered, vibrant abstract paintings, according to Wako Takayama, who is writing a biography of the artist. "He was an unlikely Taos resident, having been born in turn-of-the century rural Japan and educated to take over the family bank and carry on the family name and honor," she said. "But through his unwavering commitment to his art, and a series of fortuitous circumstances (he) 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."

For Wako Takayama, a Silicon Valley computer software developer and marketer, getting to know her grandfather as an adult and as a member of his community was enlightening. She said she had known him well as she grew up, but didn't get a good picture of his life in Taos until she began doing research for his biography.

Michio Takayama was born Oct. 11, 1903, in Chiba prefecture, Japan, the first son of a country squire. Following his father's wishes, he studied law at the university and became a banker in Tokyo.

After work and on weekends, he painted, including eight years of study between 1931-1939 with noted Japanese landscape painter Shin Kurihara. In 1939, following a series of successes in the modern art community, Takayama quit his banking job and turned to painting full-time. His father disapproved and promptly disowned him.

Takayama won prestigious awards, including one for which he was presented a sword by Prime Minister Tojo. He was a member and active leader in the Niki Artists Association. He also traveled extensively in Japan and to Taiwan and Manchuria to sketch and paint.

In November 1956, Takayama and his wife went to Los Angeles to attend the wedding of their daughter, who had moved there to attend college. During the visit, his wife was diagnosed with cancer and required immediate medical care. However, this required that she stay in the United States beyond their tourist visas. At that time, Takayama was exhibiting at the Landau Gallery, where he later held three successful one-man shows. Felix Landau and Illinois Congressman Sidney Yates were able to help Takayama and his wife acquire their permanent residency visas.

In the summer of 1966, a former painting student invited Takayama and his wife to Taos. It was on that trip that he made his first drawings and became enamored with the scenery of New Mexico.

He applied for a residency at the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation in Taos, returning there with his wife in April 1967 to begin their first year in the community. Eventually, they built their own home and studio where they had an uninterrupted view of the horizon and beautiful sunsets.

Takayama showed his work in museums and galleries, primarily in the Southwest and Southern California until the end of his life. He died Jan. 9, 1994, in Denver. His work is included in the permanent collection of the Harwood Museum.

Images of drawings by Takayama can be found on the Web at: http://memberpage.women..com/lifestyle/wakot/Takayama.html.

The Takayama exhibition will continue through July 25. Also showing is "Charles Strong: The Early Years 1960-1966," which continues through July 18. Upcoming is the exhibit, "Realism, Photo Realism and Super Realism," which opens Aug. 1 and continues through Oct. 10.

The Harwood Museum, located at 238 Ledoux Street, is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with an entry fee of $5. Sunday, when admission is free, hours are noon to 5 p.m. Parking is available in the museum parking lot off of Ranchitos Road, one block west of Taos Plaza.