Akio Takamori developed a practice of representational sculpture built out of clay. His distinctive figures, many larger than life, incorporate elements from several aesthetic traditions, including American west coast funk, traditional Asian calligraphy, Japanese folk ceramics, and Edo-period ink drawings. In dialogue with his exploration of the museum’s collections, Takamori moved from juxtaposing vessels and figural ceramics to examining pairs of things, exploring symmetry and mirror reversals. His two-part installation in the North Galleries incorporated various aspects of the Henry’s ceramics collections, including vessels and figures made in Asia and the U.S., as well as photographs, textiles, and other artifacts. Both halves of Takamori’s installation featured a pair of his new sculptures based on the laughing (or mad) monks of Zen Buddhist iconography, Kanzan and Jittoku. Their presence, at once subtly layered and playfully engaging, explored aspects of how these legendary figures signify states of mind and philosophical attitudes.