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| B/U II - 94 | Red Fan |
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| Southwest Exposure | SALT II |
Born
in Seattle in 1931, Frank Okada had been a long-time resident of Eugene before
his death in 2000.
He received his B.F.A. degree from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1957 and
was awarded Whitney, Fulbright and Guggenheim Fellowships before coming to
Eugene. Okada
began his 30-year teaching career at the University of Oregon in 1969.
At the same time, however, he remained a full-time artist.
His works are included in the collections of Microsoft Corporation,
Seattle Art Museum, Portland Art Museum, and the University of Oregon Museum of
Art among others.
Frank Okada alluded to his works as being dedicatory in nature. They are “the remembrance of the anguish and subsequently the stoicism of (his) parents’ generation, as a consequence of their internment during the Second World War, which evokes a mesmerizing melancholy and sadness.” His last series of paintings in particular suggest influences from his Japanese heritage, using fan, urn and kimono motifs. The paint surface often bears the resemblance of silk brocade with its thousands of even, shimmering brush strokes laid one atop another. In other paintings, many different tones of one color create the overall color field, which most often comes in bright marine blues, crisp whites, golden yellows or vivid reds.
Born in 1931 in Seattle; died in 2000 in Eugene, Oregon
| 1957 | B.F.A., Cranbrook Academy of Art, Michigan |
One Person Exhibitions
| 2005 | Frank Okada Retrospective, Museum of Northwest Art, La Conner, Washington |
| 2004 | White Lotus Gallery, Eugene, Oregon |
| 2001 | Paintings from the Estate, Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle Robert Canaga Gallery, Eugene, Oregon |
| 1999 | Via Gallery, Boston |
| 1998 | Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle (also 1988, 1991, 1993, 1994) |
| 1997 | Whatcom Museum of History and Art, Bellingham, Washington |
| 1992 | Laura Russo Gallery, Portland, Oregon (also 1991) |
| 1989 | Maveety Gallery, Portland, Oregon (also 1988) |
| 1985 | Woodside/Braseth Gallery, Seattle (also 1980, 1982) |
| 1980 | Blackfish Gallery, Portland, Oregon Lane Community College, Eugene, Oregon |
| 1979 | Foster/White Gallery, Seattle (also 1975, 1976, 1977) |
| 1976 | University of Oregon Museum of Art, Eugene, Oregon (also
1970) Cornish School of Fine Arts, Seattle Ann Hughes Gallery, Portland, Oregon |
| 1972 | Richard White Gallery, Seattle (also 1971) Portland Art Museum, Oregon |
| 1970 | Portland Museum Art School, Oregon Tacoma Art Museum, Washington |
| 1966 | Island Gallery, Seattle |
| 1965 | Atrium Gallery, Seattle |
Selected Group Exhibitions
| 2001 | Selected Paintings from the Microsoft Collection, Microsoft Conference Center, Redmond, Washington |
| 1999 | Planes of Color, Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle |
| 1997 | Asian Tradition, Modern Expression, Jane Voorhees
Zimmerli Museum, Rutgers University, New Jersey (catalog) Light, Shadow and Gesture: By Northwest Artists, Seattle Art Museum |
| 1995 | The Traditional Impulse, Greg Kucera Gallery,
Seattle Washington: 100 Years, 100 Paintings, Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, Washington |
| 1992-93 | Crosscurrents, Portland Art Museum, Portland,
Oregon ...In Abstraction, AT&T GAteway Tower, Seattle, curated by Yvonne Banks |
| 1991 | Western Arts Federation Exhibition, Nevada Museum
of Art, Reno, Nevada ART/LA 90, Los Angeles, California 1991 Formalism, Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland, Oregon |
| 1990 | Views and Visions in the Pacific Northwest, Seattle Art Museum |
| 1989 | Bumberbiennale: Decade of Abstraction, 1979-1989, Bumbershoot Arts Festival, Seattle |
| 1988 | Contemporary Survey: A Visible Presence in the Northwest, Cheney Cowles Museum, Spokane, Washington |
| 1987 | Point of View, Hult Center, Eugene, Oregon The Art of St. Martin's Abbey, Washington State Capitol Museum, Olympia, Washington War Resistors League Benefit Exhibition, Don Judd Gallery, New York |
| 1986 | The Art of St. Martin's Abbey, Tacoma Art Museum,
Washington Pacific Vista, Asian American Artists of Oregon and Washington, Index Gallery, Clark College, Vancouver, Washington |
| 1984 | Asian American Invitational, Chinese Benevolent Hall, Portland, Oregon |
| 1983 | Northwest Art in Corporate Collections, Seattle
(catalog) Oregon Invitational, Hult Center, Eugene, Oregon Asian American Artists Exhibition, National Invitational, Wing Luke Museum, Seattle |
| 1982 | Pacific Northwest Artists and Japan, Seattle Art
Museum (catalog) Japan and the Northwest, The National Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan |
| 1977 | Made in America, Asian American Exhibition, Wing
Luke Museum, Seattle Northwest '77, Seattle Art Museum |
| 1976 | Masters of the Northwest, Seattle Art Museum |
| 1975 | Seattle Show, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, California (catalog) |
| 1971 | 73rd Western Invitational, Denver Museum of Art,
Colorado (catalog) Artists of Oregon, Portland Art Museum, Oregon West Coast Drawing Invitational, Saint Cloud State College, Minnesota |
| 1970 | Northwest Annual Invitational, Seattle Art Museum (also 1965, 1964, 1959, 1958, 1956, 1955) |
| 1968 | Exhibition of Northwest Artists, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon |
| 1967 | Salon d'Art Sacre, Museum of Modern Art, Paris
(catalog) Group Exhibition, Cite Internationale des Arts, Paris |
| 1966 | Seattle Artists, Kobe Municipal Museum, Japan |
| 1963 | Younger Washington Artists, Henry Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle (catalog) |
| 1962 | Northwest Art Today Exhibition, Seattle World's
Fair, Seattle Center (catalog) Henry Gallery Annual Invitational, University of Washington, Seattle (also 1960, 1959, 1958, 1957, 1956, 1955) |
| 1959 | Santa Barbara Museum Biennial, Santa Barbara Museum
of Art (catalog) (also 1957) Northwest Painters Exhibition, Portland Art Museum, Oregon (catalog) |
| 1958 | Tenth Street Annual Invitational, Brata Gallery, New York |
| 1957 | Whitney Group Show, Contemporary Gallery, Atlantic City, New Jersey |
Selected Collections
Bank of Tokyo, Portland, Oregon
Bogle & Gates, Attorneys, Seattle
Erb Memorial Union Collection, University of Oregon, Eugene
Financial Service Company, Bellevue, Washington
First Interstate Bank, Seattle
First National Bank, Portland
Frederick & Nelson Corporation, Seattle
Hult Center Collection, Eugene, Oregon
Marvin Stein & Associates, Seattle
Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington
Nord Corporation, Bellingham, Washington
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe Law Firm, Seattle
Osborn/Ulland Corporation, Seattle
Portland Art Museum
Portland Portable Art Collection
Preston, Thorgrimson, Shidler, Gates and Ellis, Seattle
Prudential Savings Bank, Seattle
Riddell, Williams, Bullitt & Walkinshaw, Attorneys, Seattle
SAFECO Insurance Company, Seattle
Seattle Art Museum
Seattle Buddhist Church
Seafirst Bank Corporation, Seattle
Seattle Health Services
Seattle Public Library
Security Pacific Bank, Seattle
Sheraton Hotel Corporation, Seattle
Simpson Timber Corporation, Seattle
St. Martins Abbey, Lacey, Washington
Stouffer Madison Hotel, Seattle
Swedish Hospital, Seattle
Tacoma Art Museum, Washington
University of Oregon Museum, Eugene
University of Stanford Hospital, Palo Alto
U.S. National Bank, Portland
U.S. West Communications, Seattle
Whatcom Museum of History and Art, Bellingham
Copyright Restrictions : All images are provided for reference only and may not be reproduced without permission.
