Tadaaki Kuwayama
{{Short description|Japanese minimalist artist (1932-2023)}}
{{Infobox artist
| name = Tadaaki Kuwayama
| image = Tadaaki Kuwayama in 2017.jpg
| image_size = 300
| caption = Kuwayama in 2017
| birth_date = {{birth date|1932|3|4}}
| birth_place = Nagoya, Japan
| death_date = {{death date and age|2023|08|18|1932|3|4}}
| death_place = Manhattan, New York, U.S.
| occupation = Painter
| field = Painting
| movement = Minimalism, Geometric abstraction
| training = Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music
| spouse = Rakuko Naito
}}
Tadaaki Kuwayama (March 4, 1932 – August 18, 2023) was a Japanese painter known for his contributions to minimalism.{{cite web |last=Heinrich |first=Will |title=Tadaaki Kuwayama, 91, Dies; Painter Who Carved His Own Spare Path |website=The New York Times |date=2023-09-15 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/15/arts/tadaaki-kuwayama-dead.html |access-date=2023-10-29 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230915234017/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/15/arts/tadaaki-kuwayama-dead.html |archive-date=2023-09-15 |url-status=live}}
Career
After studying traditional Japanese painting (nihonga) at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and graduating in 1956, Kuwayama, along with his wife, left Japan for New York City in 1958. There, he sought to develop his own distinctive style. His first solo exhibition at the Green Gallery in 1961 featured Untitled: Red and Blue, a minimalist artwork featuring two distinct rectangular panels, one painted in red and the other in blue, with sharp, clean lines, and a clear separation of colors.{{cite web |title=Tadakki Kuwayama |website=The Mayor Gallery |date=2023-09-01 |url=https://www.mayorgallery.com/news/148-tadakki-kuwayama-1932-2023/ |access-date=2023-10-29}}
In later exhibitions, Kuwayama transitioned from paper to canvas and then to more industrial materials such as titanium, also exploring different shapes such as triangles.{{cite web |title=Studio Visit with Artists Tadaaki Kuwayama and Rakuko Naito {{pipe}} Christie's |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE4bu0FDxXI |access-date=2023-10-29}}
Many of Tadaaki Kuwayama's works are held in the collections of the Guggenheim Museum, the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, and various museums in Japan.
Personal life
Tadaaki Kuwayama was born on March 4, 1932, in Nagoya, Japan. He met his wife, Rakuko Naito, during their studies at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. The couple married and moved to New York in 1958, where they shared a studio. He died on August 18, 2023, in Manhattan, after a fall.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.studiointernational.com/index.php/tadaaki-kuwayama-radical-neutrality-video-interview Tadaaki Kuwayama: 'Here is only the art itself']
- {{youtube|id=eE4bu0FDxXI|title=Studio Visit with Artists Tadaaki Kuwayama and Rakuko Naito {{pipe}} Christie's}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuwayama, Tadaaki}}
Category:20th-century Japanese painters
Category:21st-century Japanese artists