Jirō Yoshihara

Jirō Yoshihara ( Japanese 吉 原 次 良 , Yoshihara Jirō ; born January 1, 1905 in Osaka ; died February 19, 1972 ) was a Japanese entrepreneur and painter.

life and work

Yoshihara came from a wealthy entrepreneurial family. He began to be interested in painting at an early age and showed his pictures in a solo exhibition during his time at Kwansei Gakuin University in 1928. From 1934 he showed pictures at the Nika-kai exhibition.

Initially, his works belonged to surrealism, within which he painted poetic still lifes and landscapes. From 1930 he was influenced by Mondrian and turned to abstract painting. In 1937 he received a special award from the Nika organizers. In the following year he founded the “nine-room society” ( 九 室 会 , Kyūshitsu-kai ) together with the young artists of the Nika-kai .

In 1947, Yoshihara again submitted pictures with the resurgence of the Nika-kai. In 1954 he was involved in founding the "Society for Concrete Art" ( 具体 美術 協会 , Gutai bijutsu kyōkai ). This society made contact with the American and European artists of the informal art direction as well as the abstract-expressionist direction. From 1950 the "hot-abstract" art movement developed in Japan, of which Yoshihara became the leader. In 1967 Yoshihara received the grand prize at the 9th International Art Exhibition. In 1971 he was awarded a gold medal at the “Triennale India” in New Delhi .

After many artistic phases, Yoshihara created a series of pictures, each consisting of a monochrome circle on a monochrome background. They are among his most famous works. - Unlike the meditative circles of Zen Buddhism drawn spontaneously with a brush, Yoshihara are works that have been composed with care.

Remarks

1. ↑ Nika-kai ( 二 科 会 ) is an artist association founded in 1914 to protest against the selection of images for the Monbushō bijutsu tenrankai ( 文部省 美術展 覧 会 ) exhibition with annual exhibitions.

literature

• National Museum of Modern Art (ed.): Kindai Nihon no bijutsu . 1984.