Reflections

Born in Osaka, Japan, in 1941, Masaru Takiguchi fostered his interest in sculpture early on as a child, carving copies of ancient Grecian statues from firewood that his father would bring home. While attending Kyoto City College of Fine Arts (Japan), he fell in love with the city’s great historical sites. Throughout his life as a sculptor—frequently being reminded that ancient Japanese culture revolves around stone, wood, and paper—Takiguchi has always felt a great affinity for organic materials from the earth, and he thereby learned to work with these unforgiving natural mediums with the utmost precision. In 1968, Takiguchi was brought to the United States by David and Kiko Kung; he was given a studio behind Kiko Gallery; and in 1969, 1970, and 1973, he served as a visiting instructor in sculpture at the University of Houston. During this time, Takiguchi quietly began honing his art, utilizing his own hand-made tools to produce sculptures with a rich textural component, while still maintaining a simplified and abstract composition. Takiguchi’s wood and stone sculptures, known for their organic sensuality and lyrical fluidity, have always embodied the very essence of nature’s forms: air, water, light, a breeze, or even the curve of planetary bodies. Since graduating with his M.A. in Sculpture from Kyoto City College in 1966, Takiguchi has had multiple solo exhibitions at Kiko Gallery, Meredith Long Gallery, and Hooks-Epstein Galleries; he has also participated in various group shows throughout the U.S. and Japan. His works are included in numerous public and private collections in Houston and beyond, and he has been featured in various publications and art reviews.