Joan Takayama-Ogawa

Joan Takayama-Ogawa (born February 20, 1955), is an American ceramic artist and educator. She is sansei (third-generation) Japanese-American, and a professor at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, California. Takayama-Ogawa's heritage since the 15th century of Japanese ceramic art influences her work, that usually explores beauty, decoration, ornamentation and narrative while also introducing a dialogue that rejects the traditional role of women in Japanese culture.

Early life and education Takayama-Ogawa began her extensive education at the International Christian University, Tokyo, when she was just 20 years old. While there, she spent a year studying conversational Japanese and with an intent in learning more about her family's connection with Japanese ceramics. Here she was first introduced to Jōmon pottery by faculty member and expert, J. E. Kidder, which was the beginning of her “life long interest in archeology and geology.” She continued on to receive her Bachelor of Fine Arts in East Asian studies and geography from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1978. His teaching focused on material proficiency over concept, his emphasis on form, surface and finish directly influenced Ogawa's stylistic choices in her early ceramic work. until she decided to further her education at Otis College of Art and Design in 1985.

Recognition 2017 73 Scripps Annual Artist Curator, Scripps College, Claremont, CA 2016 Pasadena Design Commissioner at AMOCA 2016 NCECA Speaker 2014 NCECA Speaker, Milwaukee and Kansas City 2014 One of the top 50 American Ceramics Artists by The Marks Project 2010 Otis College of Art and Design, Faculty Development Grant Laguna Clay Company, Lomitas, CA. 2006 Recipient of the Otis Faculty Development Grant Recipient of the Otis Faculty Technology Grant 2005 Artist in Residency, Watershed, Maine 2004 Teacher of the Year Commencement Speaker at Otis College of Art and Design 1994 Glading McBean and Co., "Feats of Clay," Merit Award," Lincoln, California. 1993 Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, "Workshop and Lecture Series," Washington D.C. 1978 UCLA President's Undergraduate Fellowship, researched the history of Little Tokyo.

Permanent collections Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. deYoung Museum, San Francisco Los Angeles County Museum of Art Oakland Museum of California Long Beach Museum of Art American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, California Racine Art Museum World Ceramic Exposition Foundation, Icheon, South Korea Princessehof Leeuwarden Nationaal Keramiekmuseum, Leeuwarden, Netherlands George Ohr Museum, Biloxi, Mississippi Kamm Teapot Foundation David and Jackie Charak Foundation Hallmark Collection Celestial Seasoning Tea Company Newark Museum of Art, Newark, NY Stanford University Art Museum Flint Institute, Flint, Michigan