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Thomas Akawie
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Thomas Akawie (1935-2019)
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Thomas Frank Akawie (1935–2019) was a significant figure in the evolution of Post-War California art, particularly within the Bay Area and the Visionary Art movement. Born in New York City, Akawie moved to Los Angeles, where he began his studies at Los Angeles City College (1953–1956) and the Olympic Art Guild (1955–1956). He earned his B.A. in Art History from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1959 and an M.A. in 1963. He taught at various institutions, including the San Francisco Art Institute, where he served as a Professor of Fine Art from 1966 to 1999. Akawie was exhibited in three shows at SFAI in 1968, including one solo show.
Akawie's early work drew inspiration from the architectural floor plans of historic European cathedrals, resulting in abstract pieces characterized by rigid symmetry and ethereal fields that implied vast spaces. Some of the Church Floor-Plan paintings were luminescent and inspired a near religious experience. These meticulously airbrushed works, often displayed alongside the Visionary artists, suggested both precision and primitive forms. As his career evolved, he embraced landscapes, creating Magic Realist depictions of deserts and skies, before shifting towards more conventional Photo Realist subjects in the 1970s. His connection to the Visionary art movement is underscored by his exploration of symbolism and imagery drawn from Tarot, astrology, and ancient Egyptian art.
The pieces in the Lost Art Salon collection range from early oils of still lifes and interiors to hard edge geometric compositions and encaustic landscapes.
Selected Exhibitions: SF MoMa, California Palace of Legion of Honor, de Young Museum, Oakland Museum of Art, Whitney Museum NY, San Jose Museum of Art, Smithsonian Washington, D.C., Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Denver Art Museum, Santa Barbara Museum of Art and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
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