Atsuko Tanaka (artist)

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Atsuko Tanaka's Tokyo Work (1955), reconstructed for documenta 12 2007 in Kassel

Atsuko Tanaka ( Japanese 田中 敦 子 , Tanaka Atsuko ; born February 10, 1932 in Osaka , † December 3, 2005 in Asuka ) was a Japanese painter , draftsman and action artist . She was a member of the avant-garde artists' association Gutai .

life and work

Atsuko Tanaka began preparatory studies in 1950 at akasaka -shiritsu Bijutsukan Fusetsu Bijutsu Kenkyūjo ( 大阪 市立 美術館 付 研究所 美術 研究所 , German: " Affiliated Art Research Institute of Osaka City Art Museum") for the entrance examination to the art school. In 1951 Tanaka began her studies in the Department of Western Painting for Kyōto-shiritsu Bijutsu Daigaku , today's Kyōto-shiritsu Geijutsu Daigaku . In 1955 Tanaka became a member of the Gutai Artists' Association .

In 1965 she left Gutai, together with the artist Akira Kanayama . A little later she marries Kanayama and moves with him to Osaka. In 1972 Tanaka and Kanayama move to Asuka, Nara Prefecture.

Tanaka uses everyday objects such as textiles and the like in her work and combines electrical elements such as lightbulbs with painting. She is considered an artist who incorporated feminist positions in her art at an early stage.

Her work has been and is shown at international exhibitions and biennials. Her work is part of important international collections, including the Museum in Kanazawa , the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art ( 兵 庫 県 立 美術館 , Hyōgo-kenritsu Bijutsukan ) in Kobe and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles . In 2007 Tanaka's installation Electric Dress from 1956 (a dress that anticipates the traditional kimono and consists of painted lightbulbs. Tanaka wore it himself at art events.), As well as drawings (studies) for this work and several other paintings at documenta 12 in Kassel . The sculpture Electric Dress is considered to be the main and key work of Atsuko Tanaka. Her work Tokyo Work (1955), a large pink cloth, was also reconstructed for documenta 12.

Exhibitions (selection)

  • 1998 Out of Actions Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
  • 2002 Atsuko Tanaka Gallery in Taxispalais, Innsbruck / Atsuko Tanaka Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo / Atsuko Tanaka in Kyoto, Mori Yu Gallery, Kyoto / Atsuko Tanaka: Circle, Circle, Circle, Gallery HAM, Nagoya
  • 2003 Transition SCAI The Bathhouse, Tokyo / Atsuko Tanaka, New Paintings 2002–2003, Gallery HAM, Nagoya
  • 2004 Gutai Retrospective , Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, Kobe / Electrifying Art: Atsuko Tanaka 1954-1968 , Gray Art Gallery New York University, New York / Atsuko Tanaka: Paintings and Drawings 1980-2002 , Paula Cooper Gallery, New York
  • 2005 Light art from artificial light ZKM, Karlsruhe / 25 years Deutsche Bank Collection Deutsche Guggenheim - Berlin / The Shape of Time Walker Art Center, Minneapolis / Resounding Spirit: Japanese Contemporary Art of the 1960s , Samek Art Gallery, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA / Traces : Body and Idea in Contemporary Art , The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan / Works on Paper - 2005 , Schmidt Contemporary Art, St. Louis, MO
  • 2006 ZERO Museum Kunst Palast, Düsseldorf / Tokyo Blossoms Hara Museum, Tokyo
  • 2007 What Is Painting? Museum of Modern Art , New York City / documenta 12 , Kassel

Sources and literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Tanaka, Atsuko
ALTERNATIVE NAMES 田中 敦 子 (Japanese)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Japanese painter, draftsman and action artist
DATE OF BIRTH February 10, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH Osaka , Japan
DATE OF DEATH December 3, 2005
Place of death Asuka , Japan