Tulsa, OK

Color and Serenity: The Paintings by Michio Takayama

   Symphony Conductor, 1980     oil on linen, 50″ x 44″

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.

Takayama  was one of the most lyrical painters of the 20th century.His method has been compared to a Japanese tea ceremony, involving a strict series of formal applications of paint that required long drying times in-between layers, meaning that works could take up to a year to complete. The artist spent 20 years in Taos, NM, and the beautiful surroundings — mountains, trees, birds, and sunsets — inspired him immeasurably. But the paintings are distilled to the essence of what he felt and saw, evoking mood, light and space. It is a body of surprisingly moving work, able to make a viewer stop in his tracks and sigh.

His work is represented by Tuscon, Arizona’s The Gallery  at 6th and 6th.

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

    Kokoro