Wakita Kazu

Wakita, 1960

Wakita Kazu ( Japanese 脇 田 和 ; born June 7, 1908 in Tokyo ; died November 21, 2005 ) was a Japanese painter of the Yōga direction during the Shōwa period .

life and work

Wakita came to Germany at the age of 15 and studied painting in Berlin from 1925 to 1930. After his return in 1930 he was able to show his picture “Still life on a white table” ( 白 い 机 の 静物 Shiroi tsukue no seibutsu ) at the Teiten exhibition in 1932. He then presented work at the following Teiten exhibitions, those of the Kōfu-kai and those of the Japanese Society for Watercolor Painting ( 日本 水彩画 会Nihon suisai gakai ). In 1936 he received a prize at the Kōfu-kai exhibition for his picture "A corner in the artist's studio" ( 画室 の 一隅 Gashitsu no ichigū ). In the same year he founded, together with Inokuma Gen'ichirō and Koiso Ryōhei , the association “New Creative Direction” ( 新 制作 派 Shin-seisaku-ha ) and remained an active member there throughout his life.

In 1936 Wakita took part in the art competition on the occasion of the Olympic Games in Berlin. However, his contribution was not awarded. In 1938 he came to Shanghai as a member of the Japanese press corps. The picture "Landing in the face of the enemy" ( 敵 前 上 陸 Tekizen jōriku ) was created.

After the Pacific War, Wakita painted a series of pictures with children as the central theme and pictures with fairy tale themes, including "Angels with Flowers" ( 花 に く る 天使 Hana ni kuru tenshi ) and "Conversation with a Bird" ( 鳥 と 話 す Tori to hanasu ) . At the "Japanese International Art Exhibition" ( Nihon kokusai bijutsuten ) in 1955, he won an award for his painting "Conflict" ( 争 い Arasoi ). In the same year he exhibited at the São Paulo Biennale and received the Mainichi Prize for Art the following year. In 1956 he also showed pictures at the Guggenheim Art Exhibition.

At the invitation of the US State Department in 1956, he traveled through the United States and then Europe. In March 1957 he had a solo exhibition at the New York Contemporary Gallery and returned to Japan in April. Further trips took him in 1962 through several Asian countries and Europe, in 1966 he visited Mexico.

In addition to the bird and children's pictures mentioned, he developed his own style in murals with fairy tale themes. Examples of this are “flying around” ( 飛天 Hiten ; 1967), “window in stone wall” ( 石 塀 の 窓 Ishibei no mado ; 1968) and “Lacquered wall” ( 漆 の 壁 Urushi no kabe ; 1968).

In 1998, Wakita was recognized as a person with special cultural merits . In Karuizawa , the Wakita Art Museum ( 脇 田 美術館 Wakita bijutsukan ) was opened, which was built around his studio. It constantly shows a selection of around 1000 of his pictures.

Remarks

1. ↑ Teiten ( 帝 展 ) is the abbreviation for the annual state art exhibition ( 帝国 美術 院 展 覧 会 Teikoku bijutsu-in tenrankai ) between 1919 and 1945.
2. ↑ Today “New Creative Society” ( 新 制作 協会 , Shin-seisaku kyōkai).

literature

• Tazawa, Yutaka: Wakita Kazu . In: Biographical Dictionary of Japanese Art . Kodansha International, 1981, ISBN 0-87011-488-3 .

Web links

• Wakita Art Museum (English)
• Picture "melon at the window"
• Image "Island guiding a car"

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Wakita is the family name, Kazu the first name.