John Toki Solo Exhibition

John Toki’s large-scale sculptures are inspired by objects in nature will be exhibited at the the John Natsoulas Gallery. Meet the master clay artist John Toki a the opening reception on February 10th from 7-9:00 pm. 

John Toki is among the most revered contemporary sculptors in the bay area. His enormous abstract, spiritually-charged sculptures have towered over visitors this past week. They murmur quietly, speculating the weight of these magical and monumental figures. The forms in his pieces are best characterized as semi-abstract, decorated with intimate detail and texture. Toki comes from a family that valued education and art, encouraging him to be the hard-working creative entrepreneur that he is today. Receiving his BFA at CSU Hayward and his MFA from California College of Arts and Crafts, John went on to be the president and owner of Leslie Ceramic Supply Company.  His work has been exhibited in galleries across the United States, and he has been commissioned in Berkeley, Oakland, and Sacramento.  An inventor, an author, an international lecturer, a CEO, and acclaimed artist, Toki is a visionary who we are honored to represent. Don’t miss this opportunity to see his work!

Toki’s large-scale sculptures are inspired by objects in nature such as mountains, water and sky. He says of working with clay: “It can be used for large-scale works, as well as more intimate pieces, with equal success. You can apply color by painting, glazing, or mixing it into the clay. It’s a quiet activity that you can manipulate with only your hands, you don’t need tools really. You can use it for representational works, as well as abstraction. And I really like the physical presence of clay.”

John Toki has public installments in Richmond, Berkeley, Sacramento, San Francisco, Oakland, and Cincinnati and he has exhibited work throughout the US, the Netherlands and Japan.