Toshio Odate

Toshio Odate
Born1930 (age 94–95)
Tokyo, Japan
Other namesToshio Ōdate
Years activesculptor, woodworker, educator

Toshio Odate (born 1930) is a Japanese-born American sculptor, woodworker, craftsman, author, and educator.[1] He specializes in Japanese woodworking and is a noted shoji maker.[2][3] He is the author of, Japanese Woodworking Tools: Their Tradition, Spirit and Use (Taunton Press, 1984).

Biography

Toshio Odate was born in 1930 in Tokyo, Japan.[4] He trained in Japan as a cabinetmaker early in his career for 7 years starting at age 16, this was due to the economic pressure in Japan post-World War II.[5][6] In 1948, he moved to the United States for one year for college, followed by a year in Denmark for study of Scandinavian design.[5] He was planning to return to Japan to teach, however he changed his mind and Odate then decided to return to the United States, to live in New York City.[5] In 1973, he moved to Woodbury, Connecticut.[5]

He taught sculpture classes at Cooper Union briefly, followed by teaching at State University of New York at Purchase, Brooklyn Museum Art School, and Pratt Institute.[5] At Brookfield Craft Center, Odate taught shoji-making classes.[3]

His work is included in the public collection at UCR Arts,[7] Memorial Art Gallery,[8] Chazen Museum of Art,[9] and Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.[10] Odate is included in the Brooklyn Museum Interviews of Artists, 1965–1968,[11] and the Stephen Radich Gallery Records, 1942–1979,[12] at the Archives of American Art.

Publications

  • Odate, Toshio (1984). Japanese Woodworking Tools: Their Tradition, Spirit and Use. Woodworker's Library. Newtown, Connecticut: Taunton Press. ISBN 9780918804198.
  • Ōdate, Toshio (2000). Making Shoji. Fresno, California: Linden Publishing. ISBN 9780941936477.

References

  1. ^ Hallmark, Kara Kelley (2007). Encyclopedia of Asian American Artists. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 160. ISBN 978-0-313-33451-1.
  2. ^ "Feathering the Edge". American Woodworker. New Track Media. January 1991. p. 31.
  3. ^ a b Wellman, Bill (1999-09-26). "The Feel, the Smell, the Art of Working With Wood". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
  4. ^ "Toshio Odate - Biography". Askart.com. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
  5. ^ a b c d e Chamberlain, Frances (1996-06-02). "Two Studios With One Goal: Perfection". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
  6. ^ Warner, Jack (11 May 1986). "Woodworking: Toshio Odate Brings Craft to Americans". Newspapers.com. The Atlanta Constitution, United Press International. p. 192. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
  7. ^ "Toshio Odate". eMuseum UCR Art. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
  8. ^ "Toshio Odate". Memorial Art Gallery (MAG) Collection, University of Rochester. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
  9. ^ "Toshio Odate". Chazen Museum of Art, EmbARK Web Kiosk. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
  10. ^ "Toshio Odate, American, b. Tokyo, Japan, 1930". Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
  11. ^ "Brooklyn Museum Interviews of Artists, 1965–1968". Smithsonian Online Virtual Archives (SOVA), Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2021-09-18.
  12. ^ "Stephen Radich Gallery Records, 1942–1979". Smithsonian Online Virtual Archives (SOVA), Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2021-09-18.