Wild Earth: JB Blunk and Toshiko Takaezu
Columbus Museum of Art
Located in Lower Level Walter Wing
On view March 7–August 3, 2025
Admission Information
Wild Earth: JB Blunk and Toshiko Takaezu is included with the cost of general admission.
Members get FREE admission.
Not a member? Join today!
If you need help planning your visit, call 614.221.6801. Click here for information about ticket prices, parking, and additional visit information.
Exhibition Description
On March 7, 2025, the Columbus Museum of Art will open Wild Earth: JB Blunk and Toshiko Takaezu, the first museum exhibition to pair these virtuosic artists, whose experiments across a range of handcrafted media—starting with clay—yielded some of the most iconic works of the postwar studio craft movement. Wild Earth explores Takaezu and Blunk’s parallel creation of handmade worlds, as expressed through objects ranging in scale from monumental ceramics and woodcarvings to tea bowls and jewelry. Placing their work in dialogue, the exhibition highlights a shared interest in organic forms and patterns of growth, as inspired by garden vegetables, river stones, weathered timber, and the land- and seascapes of the Pacific Rim. Organized by Daniel Marcus, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions, Wild Earth brings together around 200 works from private and public collections, including twenty ceramic works gifted by Takaezu to the museum in 2007—the first time this collection has been shown in its entirety.
Blunk Shop x CMA Pop-Up
In collaboration with the JB Blunk Estate, we are pleased to announce a Blunk Shop X CMA pop-up, available throughout the run of Wild Earth: JB Blunk and Toshiko Takaezu in the CMA Museum Store. This special pop-up shop features a curated selection of artisan-made reproductions of Blunk’s original works, bringing his legacy into everyday life.
Exhibition Inspired Programming
“Wild Earth & Wild Creatures” with COSI’s Science Festival
April 30 & May 1–2, 10:00 AM–1:00 PM
Drop-in, included with admission.
Build your skills in observation, curiosity, imagination, and design in this workshop that combines a custom gallery exploration with hands-on creating. Participants will have a guided experience in the exhibition Wild Earth: JB Blunk and Toshiko Takaezu and draw inspiration from nature and these artists’ creative approaches.
Baby & Me Tours: Exploring Wild Earth
May 2, 10:30–11:15 AM
Registration is free for members and $20 for nonmembers.
Spend time in the galleries with friends as we explore the environments in our special exhibition, Wild Earth: JB Blunk and Toshiko Takaezu. Explore art, ideas, and the world through this multi-sensory gallery experience for children 0–2 and their caregivers.
Art of Cuisine
May 2, 6:00–9:00 PM
Tickets are $100 per member and $115 per nonmember.
Enjoy a curator-led introduction to Wild Earth: JB Blunk and Toshiko Takaezu, followed by a farm-to-table five-course dining experience created by Executive Chef Laura Richmond.
SOLD OUT
Creative Lens: Andy Rahe on Toshiko Takaezu
May 3, 2:00–3:00 PM
Join artist Andy Rahe, a former apprentice to Toshiko Takaezu, for an intimate guided exploration of Wild Earth: JB Blunk and Toshiko Takaezu. Through close looking and conversation, Rahe offers firsthand insight into Takaezu’s working methods, creative process, and deep connection to the natural world.
Make, Do: A Panel Conversation on JB Blunk and Toshiko Takaezu
May 22, 6:00–7:30 PM
Free with registration
Join us for a special panel conversation featuring Eva Kwong, Mariah Nielson, Andy Rahe, and Rick Yoshimoto—each with close personal connections to the artists. Together, they will explore Takaezu and Blunk’s respective working processes, their efforts to integrate art into daily life, and their deep commitments to the natural environment.
Thinking Like an Artist Workshop: Transmute: A Sculpture + Sound Experience
July 26, 2:30–4:30 PM
Tickets are $55 for members and $65 for nonmembers.
Transmute is a reactive sculpture session accompanied by a live soundscape. Led by ceramic artist Kerry Boganwright, this active meditation experience uses clay as a conduit for self-reflection and discovery, guiding participants through rhythmic movement to connect mind to body.
JB Blunk, Cypress chair, 1973-74. Courtesy JB Blunk Estate. Photograph by Angus Mill.
