Glenn Takai

Glenn Takai was born and raised in Sacramento, he  graduated from Sacramento High School and Sacramento  City College were he earned an AA degree, he then went  on to earn a MA and BA from California State University,  Sacramento, he finished his education and earned an  MFA at the University of California, Davis.  He has studied with Peter VandenBerge, Ruth Rippon and David  Gilhooly.  Glenn has been making and exhibiting his  ceramic art for many years both in the Sacramento  region, and nationally.  Glenn’s work is included in the permanent collections of the Oakland Museum and the Crocker Art Museum, also in many private collections.

In Glenn’s early work he chose the lizard as his icon, to transcend his fascination with the mythological art world.  His influences are directly rooted in Ancient Civilizations and the Renaissance.  Glenn’s ceramic figures are a powerful narrative.  Each sculpture seems to be capturing an important moment in life, perhaps to ponder it a little longer than is allowed. 

The family has been the focus of Glenn’s most recent work,  an autobiographical narrative that follow the path of three generations of family; his great grandfather the first immigrants, his dad and brother, and Glenn and his two son’s, Judd and Tait.  The figure is at the center of the work that interacts with other figures and objects that include the landscapes with images of animals and faces, and abstractions that may include complete narratives.