Madrona Gallery presents: Takao Tanabe: Seven Decades

An exhibition of 20 paintings, November 6 - 20, 2021

The Madrona Gallery celebrated ten successful years in March 2020. Over the years, their collection of historical Canadian art has grown and now includes 20 paintings by Takao Tanabe. “It took eight years,” says owner Michael Warren, “but we now have works from every decade of Tanabe’s distinguished career.” Presenting the artwork of this fine Canadian artist is an honour for Madrona Gallery, Warren adds. “We are delighted to share these exceptional pieces,” he says, “and feel fortunate
that pre-sales to collectors have been strong.”

​Takao Tanabe attended the Winnipeg School of Art from 1946-1949. His teacher and mentor Joseph Plaskett had recently returned from New York and studies with American modernist Hans Hofmann. After graduation, Tanabe moved to New York, studying at the Brooklyn Museum of Art with influential teacher Reuben Tam. Tanabe took a drawing class with Hans Hofmann. In 1952, Tanabe moved to Vancouver, connecting with other painters including Jack Shadbolt, Tony Onely and Donald Jarvis.

Detail: Sunset 3/86, from Qualicum, acrylic on canvas, 30x88 in, 1986

Tanabe was a gifted graphic designer, who produced books and print material to support his income. During the 1950’s Tanabe received national attention for many solo and group shows, including ones at the Vancouver Art Gallery and Winnipeg Art Gallery. In 1953, a scholarship allowed him to travel to London, England. He studied printmaking and travelled around Europe, recording his impressions with both realistic and abstract images.

​Tanabe was born in a fishing village near Prince Rupert in 1926. In 1942 he was a grade 10 student in Vancouver when war altered his life. He suffered forced internment with other Japanese-Canadians in BC’s interior. Tanabe always considered himself a Canadian painter with artistic sensibilities gleaned from the Western world. But interest in his Japanese heritage and a Canada Council grant facilitated a two-year visit to Japan in 1959. He studied Japanese sumi-e painting and calligraphy, having a solo exhibition in Tokyo in 1960. Untitled, a gouache painting from 1959, is a continuation of his “White Series” paintings started in 1956.

​Caribou is an acrylic painting suggesting the rolling prairies and arid canyons of Cariboo County. Tanabe uses loose expressive brushwork to sketch out the hilly terrain. Downstrokes with a dry brush build dark ridges and diagonal cross-hatching defines hilltops. The abstracted land forms show an earthy palette of warm grays and ochres.

Untitled, gouache on paper, 21.5x11.5 in, 1959.

Caribou, acrylic on canvas, 23x34 in, 1962.

​In 1973 Tanabe accepted a position with the Banff School of Arts (now the Banff Centre). He became artist-in-residence and head of the painting division. Artworks from this time were in a major exhibition titled Takao Tanabe, 1972-1976: The Land. These paintings explore the tenuous boundary between abstraction and representation. Tanabe’s “one-shot” technique required him to apply a single continuous line of pigment across the canvas. One for sky, and another for land.

​In The Land 24/73, the two tones (blue sky and ochre land) appear smoothly applied. With a length of six feet to cover, this would require careful preparation and a steady hand. Crevices, hollows and vegetation on the land appear to be added later.

The Land 24/73, acrylic on canvas, 27x72 in, 1973

In Banff the Land 6/75, Tanabe creates an interesting visual impact using dark acrylic washes. Coating unprimed canvas with a dark wash illuminates the minute weave pattern in the ground. Adding more dark washes over the blue sky and brown earth, creates a moody textural environment.
Tanabe’s “one-shot” technique shows in the smooth horizontal bands of pigment in The Land Sketch #5. Green bands along the horizon line and dark washes in the ochre hint at volume and recession in space.

Banff the Land 6/75, acrylic on canvas, 28x42 in, 1975

The Land Sketch #5, acrylic on canvas, 16x20 in, 1975

Tanabe moved to a rural property near Parksville in 1980. I visited Tanabe in his spacious studio on this property in 2005. He was preparing for a retrospective at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. In his studio, an oversized canvas was stapled directly on to a large work table. This allowed him to walk around the table for his long washes of “one-shot” painting. “Sometimes I climb right up on the table,” he said.
​When I mentioned the chill in the studio, he offered me a well-worn sweater, which I gratefully accepted.

Tanabe began exploring Vancouver Island’s rocky coasts and sandy beaches. Gulf of Georgia, North of Thormanby finds the artist exploring the Strait of Georgia near Schelt. This ocean scene appears fog-shrouded and mysterious. Violet hues darken the water and the distant islands recede from view. Tanabe explained his weather preferences about the coast in an Artist's Statement from 1999: “The West Coast has its bright clear days where all is revealed, but I favour the grey mists, the rain obscured islands and the clouds that hide the details”.

Gulf of Georgia, North of Thormanby, acrylic on canvas, 26x48 in, 1986.

​Sunset 3/86, from Qualicum is a brilliant departure from mist-shrouded islands. The sky is alive with fiery abandon. Brilliant melting hues of popsicle orange and cherry pink reflect off the calm ocean at Qualicum Beach.

Sunset 3/86, from Qualicum, acrylic on canvas, 30x88 in, 1986

Barkley Sound, Treble Islands is a long narrow painting. It offers a panorama view of far-off islands floating on water touched by rosy shades of dawn. Treble Islands are part of the Broken Group Islands in the wilderness area of Pacific Rim National Park.

Barkley Sound, Treble Islands, acrylic on canvas, 15.5 x 46 in, 1993

Browning Passage and Goletas Channel are located near Tofino, close to a protected marine park called God’s Pocket. Goletas 3/94, Browning Passage gives us a view of rugged terrain, and a tree covered island reflected in calm water. The painting is closely cropped to highlight the jagged rock formations along the waterline and dark forest reflected in the water. Here the artist brings us closer to the natural world and its craggy imperfections. When writing about painting the west coast in 1999, Tanabe said this: "However much we desire order and clarity in all the details of our lives, there are always unexpected events that could cloud and change our course. Life is ragged."

Goletas 3/94, Browning Passage, acrylic on canvas, 32x55 in, 1994

Michael Warren at Madrona Gallery, 2021

Madrona Gallery, 606 View Street, Victoria BC, V8W 1J4.
Phone: 250 380 4660.  Email: [email protected]
Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 10:00- 5:30, Monday - Sunday 11:00 - 5:00

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