TAKAO TANABE

TAKAO TANABE has been an important figure in Canadian painting and printmaking for over six decades. Born in Prince Rupert, British Columbia in 1926, Takao Tanabe studied in Canada, Europe, the United States and Japan. Following a decade as head of the art program and artist-in-residence at the Banff Centre, he returned to British Columbia in 1980 where he lives and works.

Takao Tanabe's work is in numerous international public, corporate and private collections, including Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Art Gallery of Ontario, Canada Council Art Bank, Glenbow Museum, Calgary; McMaster Museum of Art, Hamilton; National Gallery of Canada, Tate Museum, U.K.; Vancouver Art Gallery, Borden, Ladner, Gervais; Four Seasons Hotels, Jarislowsky Fraser Ltd., Scotiabank and UBS Canada Inc.

Tanabe is the recipient of several honorary degrees and awards, including Order of British Columbia (1993), Order of Canada (Member, 1999), the Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts (2003), Audain Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Visual Arts (2013).

In 2005, the retrospective Takao Tanabe was organized by Art Gallery of Greater Victoria and Vancouver Art Gallery and toured nationally. In 2011, the traveling exhibition "Chronicles of Form and Place: Works on Paper" by Takao Tanabe was organized by the Burnaby Art Gallery and McMaster Museum of Art. In 2016, the exhibition "Takao Tanabe - Sumie: Ink Brush Paintings" was featured at the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre, Burnaby, British Columbia.

Takao Tanabe has been represented by Mira Godard Gallery for over 55 years.