100th Anniversary KOMAI Tetsuro Exhibition Part 1
-Artist in young days and Patron-
(Web exhibition / By appointment only)

June. 16 ［Tue.］― July. 11 ［Sat.］ 2020 11:00-19:00
*Visiting hours by appointment are 12:00-18:00
Gallery closed on Sunday, Monday, and national holidays.

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the copperplate poet KOMAI Tetsuro, Watanuki Ltd. is hosting KOMAI Tetsuro Exhibition Part 1.

From the collection of Mr. M, who was the patron of KOMAI Tetsuro (1920-1976) in his young days, Watanuki Ltd. is exhibiting oil paintings, woodblock and copperplate prints. 15 valuable works between 1936 (16 yrs) to 1960 (40 yrs), include those exhibited in exhibitions in and out of Japan such as Salon de Mai, Australia - New Zealand Touring Exhibition, Contemporary Japanese Art Exhibition, Shunyo Art Exhibition and special exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura & Hayama.

Prof. KURITA Hidenori of Nagoya University Graduate School of Humanities Department has written an essay on Mr. M and KOMAI Tetsuro. This essay will be available on our web and blog.

To avoid the spread of COVID-19, we will film our exhibition and present it on YouTube.

Click to view the list of 15 works.

■ KOMAI Tetsuro (1920-1976)
Born 1920 in Tokyo, Japan. Begun to learn a Copperplate printing from Takeo NISHIDA in 1935. He graduated the Tokyo Art School in 1942. After the World War II he exhibited works as a member of the Nihon Hanga Kyokai (Japanese Print Society) and Shunyokai artists’ association and also contributed prints to a variety of exhibitions. In 1951 he received an award in the first São Paulo Biennale for a representative work of his early period, Momentary Illusion, the same exhibition where Saitô Kiyoshi received an award (and had his breakthrough as an artist) with Steady Gaze. In the following year he was also given an award at the Lugano International Print Biennial. In 1953 he had his first solo exhibition at Shiseido Gallery. From 1954 to 1955 he studied in Paris. The opening exhibition of the Minami Gallery in 1956 was the Tesuro KOMAI Exhibition. From 1972 to 1976, he lectured at the Tokyo University of the Arts. Komai played a significant role in the promotion of Copperplate printing as an art form in the post-war Japan. He died in 1976 at the age of 56.

Gallery view　*Click on images to enlarge.