In 1980, Takao Tanabe left his teaching job in Banff and returned to British Columbia, acquiring property and building a studio on the east side of Vancouver Island. On ferry trips between the Island and the mainland, the vistas of islands, distant mountains and the ephemeral effects of weather made a deep impression on him. He began a series of coastal images of ocean expanses punctuated by islands and far-off mountain ranges, enshrouded by the moody weather of the coast with its mists, fogs and low-lying cloud. Tanabe’s fine, subtle paint treatment is entirely in harmony with the delicate atmospheres of the West Coast, as is his monochromatic palette dominated by blues and greys that range from silver to steel. Tanabe emphasizes specificity of site by using geographical references in his titles, bringing a scientific, observational element to the ethereal beauty of poetic works such as Gulf Islands 3/82: Afternoon Fog.

In 2026, Tanabe’s achievements will be celebrated in a major centennial touring retrospective. Takao Tanabe: Inside Passage will commence at the Audain Art Museum in Whistler, BC (June 13 to October 19), traveling to the National Gallery of Canada and the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria.