Paris

Painter from Osaka. Tsutaka was enthusiastic about literature since his teens, issuing the private magazine Katachi (“Form”) and acting as a co-editor of Kobe Poets. He studied painting under Nabei Katsuyuki at Nakanoshima Western Art Institute. After the war, he co-founded Variety Art Association with Suda Kokuta and participated in the exhibitions of Kōdō (“Action”) Art Association and Genbi. Tsutaka was active nationally and internationally with numerous group and solo exhibitions including in Europe, the United States and South America. He was appointed a honorary professor at Osaka University of Arts.

Sculptor and painter from Tokyo. Miyawaki graduated with a major in history from the Japan Woman’s University and continued to study fine art under Abe Nobuya (painter) and Saitō Yoshishige (sculptor and painter) at Bunka Gakuin, Tokyo. She later relocated temporarily to the United States and exhibited widely on an international stage, including in Milan, Paris, and New York. From the 1960s onwards, Miyawaki concentrated on three-dimensional works, making extensive use of materials such as metal and glass.

Painter from Kyoto. Imaï learned painting from an early age at Asahi Kodomo Athene School. After his move to Tokyo, he studied with Ogi Tarō, Umehara Ryūsaburō and Yasui Sōtarō. In 1952, he moved to France and joined the Art Informel movement, splitting his time between France and Japan and exhibiting widely in Europe, the Americas and Japan. Around 1960, he moved away from his large-scale, dynamic paintings to concentrate more on the revival of traditional Japanese themes and artistic forms.

Painter from Kyoto; nephew of nihonga painter Dōmoto Inshō. Dōmoto studied at the Nihonga Department of Kyoto College of Art. After traveling to France together with his uncle, he decided to switch to oil painting. He moved to France in 1954, staying until 1965 while actively participating in various international art shows including the Venice Biennial. Dōmoto drew close to the Art Informel movement and especially Michel Tapié. He counts among Japan’s most prominent abstract postwar painter.

Painter from Wakayana prefecture. Sekine studied under Nakamura Makoto and later Yoshihara Jirō. He was the founding memberof the Gutai Art Association. He left Gutai in 1959, and began to strive for abstract representation of real life motifs. Sekine is well-known for his distinctive style, "a hybrid of representational and abstract art." His works were widely exhibited in Japan and abroad including the Japan Art Festival (1966, 1970) and many others.

Avant-garde calligrapher from Hyōgo Prefecture. Like fellow artist Inoue Yūichi, Morita studied under the calligraphy master Ueda Sōkyū. He co-founded the avant-garde group Bokujinkai together with Inoue and was the founder and editor of the journal Bokubi (Beauty of Ink), both of which revolutionized traditional Japanese calligraphy and spread knowledge of Japanese avant-garde calligraphy to an international audience. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor with Dark Blue Ribbon.

Avant-garde calligrapher from Tokyo. Inoue studied calligraphy under Ueda Sōkyū, an avant-garde calligrapher who also mentored Morita Shiryū. Inoue co-founded the calligraphers’ group Bokujinkai. His large-scale, experimental calligraphy of single Chinese characters resonated strongly with the concurrent movement of Abstract Expressionism and breathed new life into the calligraphy world in Japan. Regarded as daring and innovative, his works were widely exhibited in Japan and abroad, including Dokumenta 2 in Kassel (1959) and the São Paulo Biennial (1957, 1961).

Avant-garde calligrapher from Tokyo. Inoue studied calligraphy under Ueda Sōkyū, an avant-garde calligrapher who also mentored Morita Shiryū. Inoue co-founded the calligraphers’ group Bokujinkai. His large-scale, experimental calligraphy of single Chinese characters resonated strongly with the concurrent movement of Abstract Expressionism and breathed new life into the calligraphy world in Japan. Regarded as daring and innovative, his works were widely exhibited in Japan and abroad, including Documenta 2 in Kassel (1959) and the São Paulo Biennial (1957, 1961).

Avant-garde calligrapher from Hyōgo Prefecture. Like fellow artist Inoue Yūichi, Morita studied under the calligraphy master Ueda Sōkyū. He co-founded the avant-garde group Bokujinkai together with Inoue and was the founder and editor of the journal Bokubi (Beauty of Ink), both of which revolutionized traditional Japanese calligraphy and spread knowledge of Japanese avant-garde calligraphy to an international audience. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor with Dark Blue Ribbon.

Painter from Kobe. Sugaï dropped out of Osaka College of Art to work as a commercial designer while studying privately with Yoshihara Jirō of the Gutai group. In 1952, he moved to France and continued to live and work in Paris. His style shifted from his early works, with emphasis on distinctive brushwork, to a new ‘flat’ approach resembling signs and symbols. Sugaï was among the first postwar Japanese painters to achieve international acclaim.

Avant-garde calligrapher from Hyōgo Prefecture. Like fellow artist Inoue Yūichi, Morita studied under the calligraphy master Ueda Sōkyū. He co-founded the avant-garde group Bokujinkai together with Inoue and was the founder and editor of the journal Bokubi (Beauty of Ink), both of which revolutionized traditional Japanese calligraphy and spread knowledge of Japanese avant-garde calligraphy to an international audience. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor with Dark Blue Ribbon.

Avant-garde calligrapher from Hyōgo Prefecture. Like fellow artist Inoue Yūichi, Morita studied under the calligraphy master Ueda Sōkyū. He co-founded the avant-garde group Bokujinkai together with Inoue and was the founder and editor of the journal Bokubi (Beauty of Ink), both of which revolutionized traditional Japanese calligraphy and spread knowledge of Japanese avant-garde calligraphy to an international audience. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor with Dark Blue Ribbon.

Avant-garde calligrapher from Hyōgo Prefecture. Like fellow artist Inoue Yūichi, Morita studied under the calligraphy master Ueda Sōkyū. He co-founded the avant-garde group Bokujinkai together with Inoue and was the founder and editor of the journal Bokubi (Beauty of Ink), both of which revolutionized traditional Japanese calligraphy and spread knowledge of Japanese avant-garde calligraphy to an international audience. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor with Dark Blue Ribbon.

Avant-garde calligrapher from Hyōgo Prefecture. Like fellow artist Inoue Yūichi, Morita studied under the calligraphy master Ueda Sōkyū. He co-founded the avant-garde group Bokujinkai together with Inoue and was the founder and editor of the journal Bokubi (Beauty of Ink), both of which revolutionized traditional Japanese calligraphy and spread knowledge of Japanese avant-garde calligraphy to an international audience. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor with Dark Blue Ribbon.