Lee Ufan (Korean: 이우환; Hanja: 李禹煥, Korean pronunciation: [iːuhwan]; born 1936) is a South Korean minimalist painter…
Lee Ufan (Korean: 이우환; Hanja: 李禹煥, Korean pronunciation: [iːuhwan]; born 1936) is a South Korean minimalist painter, sculptor, and academic, known for innovative bodies of work emphasizing process, materials, and the experiential engagement of viewer and site, and critiques of European phenomenology. Having lived and worked in Japan for much of his professional life, Lee has been honored by the Japanese government for having "contributed to the development of contemporary art in Japan." His essay "Sonzai to mu wo koete Sekine Nobuo ron (Beyond Being and Nothingness – A Thesis on Sekine Nobuo)" is largely considered an originator of thought for the post-war Japanese art movement of Mono-ha ("School of Things") in the late 1960s and early 1970s. His writings, published in rapid succession from 1969, have sought to externalize the interface between ideas and sensibilities from the West, namely Western Europe and the United States, and those found in East Asia. Many commentators stress Lee's stated desire to escape, or refute, Western ideas of signification, for example. As the main theorist of the Mono-ha movement in Japan, Lee was trained as a philosopher. As a painter, Lee contributed to "Korean Monotone Art" (Dansaekjo Yesul, 單色調 藝術), the first artistic movement in 20th century Korea to be promoted in Japan. His work largely advocates for a methodology of de-westernization and de-modernization in both theory and practice as an antidote to the Eurocentric thought of 1960s postwar Japanese society. A self-proclaimed wanderer and lifelong cultural border-crosser, Lee divides his time between Kamakura, Japan, and Paris, France.
Famous Japanese People: Fine Artist
Fine Artist: 73 people
Natsuyuki Nakanishi (Kanji: 中西夏之, Nakanishi Natsuyuki, b. July 14, 1935, Tokyo, d. October 23, 2016) was a Japanese…
Natsuyuki Nakanishi (Kanji: 中西夏之, Nakanishi Natsuyuki, b. July 14, 1935, Tokyo, d. October 23, 2016) was a Japanese visual and conceptual artist associated with the 1960s avant-garde art movement in Japan. His artworks ranged from Neo-Dadaist object-based works, happenings and performance art, to abstract painting. Nakanishi co-founded the groundbreaking artistic collective Hi-Red Center along with Jirо̄ Takamatsu and Genpei Akasegawa. Later in his career, Nakanishi would become known for painting practice featuring subdued palettes and idiosyncratic marks. He is also recognized for his pedagogical work, including his involvement with the experimental Bigakko school as well as professorship as Tokyo University of the Arts.
Yūtokutaishi Akiyama (秋山 祐徳太子, Akiyama Yūtokutaishi) (1935 – 3 April 2020), born Sukenori Akiyama (秋山 祐徳), was a…
Yūtokutaishi Akiyama (秋山 祐徳太子, Akiyama Yūtokutaishi) (1935 – 3 April 2020), born Sukenori Akiyama (秋山 祐徳), was a Japanese engraver artist, photographer, and occasional politician.
Tetsumi Kudо̄ (工藤哲巳, Kudō Tetsumi) (23 February 1935 – 12 November 1990) was a Japanese avant-garde artist whose…
Tetsumi Kudо̄ (工藤哲巳, Kudō Tetsumi) (23 February 1935 – 12 November 1990) was a Japanese avant-garde artist whose multidisciplinary practice included painting, performance, installation and sculpture. Associated with the Anti-Art (Han-geijutsu) movement in Japan in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Kudо̄'s provocative art was nourished by lifelong interests in science, sport and everyday objects. His work often presents a radically transformed and grotesque vision of the human body, calling into question its desires and its limits, as well as its future and origins. Never having officially identified with any one group or movement throughout his international career, the artist's body of work evades art historical classification.
Seiko Kanno (菅野 聖子; née Seiko Aizawa, 1933–1988) is a participant of the 'third generation' of the Gutai Art…
Seiko Kanno (菅野 聖子; née Seiko Aizawa, 1933–1988) is a participant of the 'third generation' of the Gutai Art Association from the mid 1960s onward. Her paintings are often characterized by an inorganic composition, seemingly devoid of emotional expression. Kanno is also a member of an experimental, avant-garde group of poets, in which she composed highly visual poems using symbols and katakana syllables. Her work additionally suggests her admiration of music, physics and mathematics, to which she became devoted towards in her later years.
On Kawara (河原温, Kawara On; January 2, 1933 – July 10, 2014) was a Japanese conceptual artist who lived in SoHo, New…
On Kawara (河原温, Kawara On; January 2, 1933 – July 10, 2014) was a Japanese conceptual artist who lived in SoHo, New York City, from 1965 until his death. He took part in many solo and group exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale in 1976.
Nam June Paik (Korean: 백남준 [pɛŋ.nam.dʑun] ; July 20, 1932 – January 29, 2006) was a South Korean artist. He worked with…
Nam June Paik (Korean: 백남준 [pɛŋ.nam.dʑun] ; July 20, 1932 – January 29, 2006) was a South Korean artist. He worked with a variety of media and is considered to be the founder of video art. He is credited with the first use (1974) of the term "electronic super highway" to describe the future of telecommunications. Born in Seoul to a wealthy business family, Paik trained as a classical musician, spending time in Japan and West Germany, where he joined the Fluxus collective and developed a friendship with experimental composer John Cage. He moved to New York City in 1964 and began working with cellist Charlotte Moorman to create performance art. Soon after, he began to incorporate televisions and video tape recorders into his work, acquiring growing fame. A stroke in 1996 left him partially paralyzed for the last decade of his life.
Masunobu Yoshimura (吉村 益信, Yoshimura Masunobu; May 22, 1932–March 15, 2011), was a Japanese visual and conceptual…
Masunobu Yoshimura (吉村 益信, Yoshimura Masunobu; May 22, 1932–March 15, 2011), was a Japanese visual and conceptual artist associated with the Neo-Dada movement. In 1960, he was the founder and leader of the short-lived but influential artistic collective Neo-Dada Organizers, which had as members several young artists who would later become well-known, including Genpei Akasegawa, Shūsaku Arakawa, and Ushio Shinohara. His "White House" atelier in Shinjuku, Tokyo served as the center of the group's activities.
Tadaaki Kuwayama (March 4, 1932 – August 18, 2023) was a Japanese painter known for his contributions to minimalism.
Takao Iijima (born 19 May 1931), better known by his art name Ay-O (靉嘔 Ai Ō), is a Japanese avant-garde visual and…
Takao Iijima (born 19 May 1931), better known by his art name Ay-O (靉嘔 Ai Ō), is a Japanese avant-garde visual and performance artist who has been associated with Fluxus since its international beginnings in the 1960s.
Takako Saito (斉藤 陽子, Saitō Takako; 16 January 1929 – 30 September 2025) was a Japanese visual artist closely associated…
Takako Saito (斉藤 陽子, Saitō Takako; 16 January 1929 – 30 September 2025) was a Japanese visual artist closely associated with Fluxus, the international collective of avant-garde artists that was active primarily in the 1960s and 1970s. Saito contributed a number of performances and artworks to the movement, which continue to be exhibited in Fluxus exhibitions to the present day. She was also deeply involved in the production of Fluxus edition works during the height of their output, and worked closely with George Maciunas. Saito is best known for her special chess sets, which include Spice Chess, but her larger body of work focuses on crafting a variety of objects to be used in open-ended situations that create unexpected social relations. More recent exhibitions, such as the Museum für Gegenwartskunst Siegen's 2017-18 exhibition Takako Saito: You + Me, have focused on the way Saito uses a playful process-based approach focused on the making of objects to blend her artistic practice with the activities and chores of daily life. Despite the fact that this blended approach often results in ambiguous objects that sit between the experimental sentiments of fine art and the practical concerns of design, her works have been collected by major museums and public collections across Europe, the United States, and Japan. The majority of her exhibitions have been held in Europe, where she traveled to and lived from 1968 on, including during the later period of her life when she resided in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Shōzō Shimamoto (嶋本 昭三, Shimamoto Shōzō; January 22, 1928 – January 25, 2013) was a Japanese artist. Having studied…
Shōzō Shimamoto (嶋本 昭三, Shimamoto Shōzō; January 22, 1928 – January 25, 2013) was a Japanese artist. Having studied with Jirō Yoshihara, the future Gutai leader, from 1947, Shimamoto was a key founding member of Gutai along with Yoshihara and fifteen others in August, 1954. He was close to the leader Yoshihara and actively engaged in the early activities and group administrations. He worked with a wide variety of techniques, such as poking holes in layered newspaper, throwing bottles of paint at canvases, experimenting with film and stage performances, and composing sound art. He was particularly noted for his innovative performance art. Indeed, when Yoshihara turned to focus more on painting, upon his meeting with the French art critic Michel Tapié, Shimamoto continued to urge the leader to pursue this direction, wanting to work with Allan Kaprow, for example. After Gutai, he became known for his mail art activities with the group AU and the continuation of his painting performances which he staged around the world. He died of acute heart failure in Nishinomiya City, Hyōgo prefecture.
Tsuruko Yamazaki (山崎 つる子, Yamazaki Tsuruko; 1925 – June 12, 2019) was a Japanese artist, known for her bold artistic…
Tsuruko Yamazaki (山崎 つる子, Yamazaki Tsuruko; 1925 – June 12, 2019) was a Japanese artist, known for her bold artistic experiments with abstract visual styles and non-traditional materials. She was a co-founder and the longest-standing female member of the Gutai Art Association, an avant-garde artists' collective established by Jirō Yoshihara.
Akira Kanayama (金山明 Kanayama Akira; 1924–2006) was a Japanese avant-garde artist and an early member of The Gutai Art…
Akira Kanayama (金山明 Kanayama Akira; 1924–2006) was a Japanese avant-garde artist and an early member of The Gutai Art Association. An active contributor to Gutai's exhibitions and performance events, Kanayama was one of the pivotal figures of the group. His artworks were characterised by witty experiments with unconventional materials such as toy cars and signal lights for level crossing. He left Gutai in 1965 with Atsuko Tanaka, whom he married later in the same year.
Tomie Ohtake (大竹富江, Ōtake Tomie; née Nakakubo (中久保); 21 November 1913 – 12 February 2015) was a Japanese Brazilian…
Tomie Ohtake (大竹富江, Ōtake Tomie; née Nakakubo (中久保); 21 November 1913 – 12 February 2015) was a Japanese Brazilian visual artist. Her work includes paintings, prints and sculptures. She was one of the main representatives of informal abstractionism in Brazil.
Toko Shinoda (篠田 桃紅, Shinoda Tōkō; 28 March 1913 – 1 March 2021) was a Japanese artist. Shinoda is best known for her…
Toko Shinoda (篠田 桃紅, Shinoda Tōkō; 28 March 1913 – 1 March 2021) was a Japanese artist. Shinoda is best known for her abstract sumi ink paintings and prints. Shinoda's oeuvre was predominantly executed using the traditional means and media of East Asian calligraphy, but her resulting abstract ink paintings and prints express a nuanced visual affinity with the bold black brushstrokes of mid-century abstract expressionism. In the postwar New York art world, Shinoda's works were exhibited at the prominent art galleries including the Bertha Schaefer Gallery and the Betty Parsons Gallery. Shinoda remained active all her life and in 2013, she was honored with a touring retrospective exhibition at four venues in Gifu Prefecture (Gifu Collection of Modern Arts; Toko Shinoda Art Space; Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu; and Gallery Kohodo) to celebrate her 100th birthday. Shinoda has had solo exhibitions at the Seibu Museum at Art, Tokyo in 1989, the Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu in 1992, the Singapore Art Museum in 1996, the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art in 2003, the Sogo Museum of Art in 2021, the Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery in 2022, and among many others. Shinoda's works are in the collection of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the Art Institute of Chicago, the British Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, the Harvard Art Museums, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, the Singapore Art Museum, the Smithsonian Institution, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the National Gallery of Victoria, and other leading museums of the world. Shinoda was also a prolific writer published more than 20 books.
Yoshishige Saitō (斎藤義重, Saitō Yoshishige, also Saitō Gijū or Saito Ghiju, May 4, 1904, in Hirosaki – June 13, 2001, in…
Yoshishige Saitō (斎藤義重, Saitō Yoshishige, also Saitō Gijū or Saito Ghiju, May 4, 1904, in Hirosaki – June 13, 2001, in Yokohama) was a Japanese visual artist and art educator. Saitō was a seminal figure in Japanese art of the 20th century and a crucial link between the prewar avant-garde and postwar abstract art in Japan. From early on, he was exposed to Post-Impressionism and the avant-garde movements, including Russian constructivism and European Dada, as well as Western literature and Marxism. In the 1930s, he became active in the avant-garde art circles, while pursuing abstraction in paintings and wood reliefs, most notably the relief series of Kara kara and Toro Wood. All of his prewar works and related materials were lost to an air-raid fire in 1945, some of them were reconstructed in the 1970s. In the immediate postwar years, Saitō's return to art was slow, but by 1957, he established himself again in the art world as a prominent abstract artist. His painting imbued with a great sense of formalism was first followed by his "drill paintings" during the Informel period and then by the return to wood reliefs, which would later lead to large-scale "spatial constructions" made of painted plywood in the 1980s. In these works in wood, he critically engaged with the issues of painting, while exploring the potential of mundane plywood to construct spaces. As a professor at the Tama Art University and the Tokyo School of Art, Saitō inspired a great number of art students, especially the future artists of the Mono-ha movement.
Kisaku Itō (伊藤 熹朔, Itō Kisaku; 1 August 1899 – 31 March 1967) was a Japanese art director. He was born in Tokyo. He…
Kisaku Itō (伊藤 熹朔, Itō Kisaku; 1 August 1899 – 31 March 1967) was a Japanese art director. He was born in Tokyo. He developed a skill in drawing, and became among the most prominent set designers in Japanese cinema following World War II. He won the Mainichi Film Award for Best Art Direction for the 1953 film Ugetsu. In 1955, he served as art director for She Was Like a Wild Chrysanthemum.
Yasushi Tanaka (Japanese: 田中 保, Hepburn: Tanaka Yasushi; 13 May 1886 – 24 April 1941) was a Japanese-born artist and…
Yasushi Tanaka (Japanese: 田中 保, Hepburn: Tanaka Yasushi; 13 May 1886 – 24 April 1941) was a Japanese-born artist and art teacher, best known for his portraits of women.
Yokoyama Taikan (横山 大観; November 2, 1868 – February 26, 1958) was the art-name of a major figure in pre-World War II…
Yokoyama Taikan (横山 大観; November 2, 1868 – February 26, 1958) was the art-name of a major figure in pre-World War II Japanese painting. He is notable for helping create the Japanese painting technique of Nihonga.
Carl Sadakichi Hartmann (November 8, 1867 – November 22, 1944) was an American art critic, poet, and anarchist.
Shinro Ohtake (大竹 伸朗, Ōtake Shinrō; born 8 October 1955) is a Japanese artist who was born in Tokyo and lives in…
Shinro Ohtake (大竹 伸朗, Ōtake Shinrō; born 8 October 1955) is a Japanese artist who was born in Tokyo and lives in Uwajima, Japan. He paints, creates installations and designs record covers and book covers. He has published dozens of books, such as a dream diary, a picture book, essays and art books.
Yumi Karasumaru (烏丸 由美, Karasumaru Yumi; born in Osaka) is a Japanese artist. She lives and works in Bologna, Italy…
Yumi Karasumaru (烏丸 由美, Karasumaru Yumi; born in Osaka) is a Japanese artist. She lives and works in Bologna, Italy, and Kawanishi, Japan.