Kazuki Takizawa
Kazuki Takizawa
“As a maker who is filled with a spectrum of ever-changing emotions, most of my work is cathartic self-expression. In expressing my emotions, I seek to connect with others and evoke a sense of familiarity and fellowship.
A significant part of my work is inspired by my experiences with my own mental health as well as stories I’ve come across with other people’s mental health. Through my body of work, I reflect on topics that are still considered taboo in this world today and attempt to voice the often-silenced conversations in my own way. The harmonization of the radically different, such as violence and meditation, spontaneity and meticulousness, and destruction and repair, is found in the process as well as the result of my work.”
As an artist who lives with bipolar disorder, Kazuki Takizawa uses glass as means to explore his inner
reality and destigmatize mental illness. In an aim to give the invisible shape, Takizawa crafts sculptural vessels
and installations, each with a unique story. Takizawa was born and raised in Hong Kong and spent most of his
childhood within a bubble of Japanese community. Experiencing language barrier as a child gave him the urge
to express and eventually resolved in pursuing the direction of artmaking. He graduated from the University of
Hawaii at Manoa with a BFA in glass art in 2009. He currently runs his glassblowing studio, KT Glassworks,
LLC in the historic West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles.
2025 Breaking the Silence III (starting in May 2025) Mesa Contemporary Museum, Mesa, AZ
2024 Monochromatic, Duncan McClellan Gallery, St. Petersburg, FL
2021 Tomoshibi: Glass Works by Kazuki Takizawa, Craft Contemporary Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Residency Exhibition, Barrio Glassworks, Carlsbad, CA
2019 Infinite Spectrum, River House Arts, Toledo, OH
2018 Minimalists, Duncan McClellan Gallery, St. Petersburg, FL
Inner Beings, The Works, Newark, OH
2017 Catharsis Contained, Craft in America Center, Beverly Hills, CA
Luminous Vessels, Westfield Valencia Town Center Art Space, CA
