Kenzo Okada
Kenzo Okada ( Japanese 岡田 謙 三 , Okada Kenzō ; born September 29, 1902 in Yokohama , Japan , † July 25, 1982 in Tokyo ) was a painter of Japanese descent who lived and worked in the USA for a long time . He was one of the representatives of Abstract Expressionism with an Asian character.
life and work
Kenzo Okada began studying Western Painting at the Tokyo Art Academy (today: Tokyo Art School ) in 1922 . In 1924 he went to France , where he studied painting on his own for a time with Tsugouharu Foujita , another Japanese emigrant, and created paintings with urban themes. In Paris he also had contact with Alberto Giacometti . In 1927 he returned to Japan and started exhibiting his art.
In 1950 he moved to New York City , where he began abstract painting . Although his art was strongly influenced by Abstract Expressionism, it nevertheless showed a strong Japanese sensitivity and a special Asian feeling for form and detail.
His paintings from the 1950s show subtle changes in the rendering of the natural world through the use of delicate, sensitive colors. In 1953 he began exhibiting abstract expressionist paintings at the Betty Parsons Gallery in New York City. In 1964 he participated in documenta III in Kassel in the painting department .
In the 1970s he painted numerous works that are considered the starting point for a reinterpretation of the decorative effects of traditional Japanese painting. In Okada's paintings, an interpretation of a kind of aura of landscapes is created, which he creates predominantly with earth colors and with abstract patterns that suggest rocks and flowers. The images are presented in a blurring that they appear as if they were looking through water.
Okada was friends with Mark Rothko and many other abstract expressionists. His sensitive and personal style of abstract expressionism with its Asian roots makes his painting part of lyrical abstraction .
Literature and Sources
- documenta III. International exhibition ; Catalog: Volume 1: Painting and Sculpture; Volume 2: Hand Drawings; Volume 3: Industrial Design, Graphics; Kassel / Cologne 1964
- Shuji Takashina: Okada, Shinoda , and Tsukata: Three Pioneers of Abstract Painting in 20th Century Japan , Phillips Collection , Washington, DC, USA 1979
Web links
- Examples of his work
- Examples of his work
- Materials by and about Kenzo Okada in the documenta archive
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Okada, Kenzo |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | 岡田 謙 三 (Japanese) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American painter of Japanese descent |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 29, 1902 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Yokohama , Kanagawa Prefecture , Japan |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 25, 1982 |
| Place of death | Tokyo |