Woman with Handbag
1999
Growing up in postwar Japan, Akio Takamori was exposed to a wide range of people through his father’s medical clinic, which was located near a red-light district. Years later, as a mature artist working in Seattle, Takamori recalled his childhood experiences by creating communities of individuals with carefully crafted identities, such as this group of villagers. The artist remarked: “I create my figures from memories. I examine and visualize the meaning of scale, space, material, and dimension of my memories.”
Stoneware
31 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 6 1/2 in. (80 x 26.7 x 16.5 cm)
Purchased with funds from the Robert M. Shields Fund for Asian Ceramics, the Guendolen Carkeek Plestcheeff Endowment for the Decorative Arts, and the Mark Tobey Estate Fund, in honor of Julie Emerson
2014.21.2
Provenance: The artist; [Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle, Washington, 1999]; sold to private collection, Portland, Oregon, 1999–2014; [James Harris Gallery, Seattle, Washington, 2014]; purchased from gallery by Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 2014
Photo: Courtesy James Harris Gallery