IN MEMORIAM
PETER YAMAOKA 1948 - 2022
Peter Yamaoka was born on May 14, 1948 in Glen Cove, New York. He passed away at home in Roxbury, New York, surrounded by family and friends, on January 30, 2022. Yamaoka is survived by his wife the artist Gerda van Leeuwen, his sisters Mira Yamaoka, and Carrie Yamaoka, and her partner Joy Episalla, his niece Kay Yamaoka and her husband James Wheal, his niece Floor Bos and her husband Martijn Rutte, and many extended family members and friends.
Peter Yamaoka graduated from Rhode Island School of Design, and attended the Royal College of Art in London. While his early work centered on printmaking, drawing and painting, his most recent work was ceramics, informed by sources ranging from Greek mythology to Mexican dioramas to Han dynasty burial objects. Yamaoka founded Hudson Street Press, which published portfolios of artist editions in New York City where he lived for many years. Yamaoka later moved to Roxbury, New York in the Catskills where he maintained his studio and was also an avid gardener.