Vivinavi

Description

2023/5/11 - 2023/5/24 / New York (ミッドタウン), New York / Other

Japan Gallery "Ted ・ KURAHARA - 70 Years of Abstract Painting"

Ted ・ Kurahara, a 97-year-old Japanese American artist, volunteered for the U.S. Army at the age of 18 to serve in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, composed of Japanese Americans, and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree after the war. His energetic monochrome abstract paintings have been praised for their fusion of contemporary American abstraction and traditional Japanese mark-making.

Ted ・ Kurahara, a 97-year-old Japanese-American artist, is known for his minimalist style of work that transforms color surfaces into infinite depth.

Mr. Krahala was born on July 16, 1925 in Seattle, Washington. At the beginning of World War II, Pearl Harbor was bombed in 1941, and soon after, President Franklin Roosevelt issued Special Executive Order 9066, which confiscated the family's hotel and everything else they owned, and sent them with other Japanese Americans to the Minidoka, Idaho, incarceration camp. In 1944, at the age of 18, he volunteered for the U.S. Army and went to war with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, which consisted of Japanese Americans. This was the first Japanese American unit in the U.S. Army during World War II and was composed of Japanese Americans from the Hawaiian Islands and Japanese Americans who volunteered to serve in concentration camps on the U.S. mainland. It fought fiercely against Axis forces on the European front, suffering a total casualty rate of 314%. It is known as the most highly decorated unit in U.S. history. At the same time, Nisei soldiers who belonged to the Army Intelligence Service （ MIS ） in the Pacific front played an active role by making the most of their English-Japanese bilingualism, and after the war they served as interpreters and contributed to the reconstruction of Japan.

After the war, he was discharged in 1947 and entered Washington State University to study art, which had been his forte since childhood, and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He then moved to Peoria, Illinois, where he received his MFA from Bradley University Graduate School of Art. Mr. Krahala then took a teaching position at Illinois from 1953 to 1956, and later at Iowa State University. 1958 marked a brilliant start as an artist, winning a medal at the Art ・ in ・ America's New ・ Talent in America invitational exhibition. In 1958, he received a medal at the "American New Talent" invitational exhibition in the United States. As one of the few Asian artists in the region, his energetic monochrome abstractions were hailed as a fusion of contemporary American abstraction and traditional Japanese mark-making.

His desire to pursue art more deeply led him to abandon his position in Illinois and relocate to New York City in 1959 with his wife, artist Joan ・ Venum, and their family, where he began immersing himself in the New York art scene, home to many artists. He began to immerse himself in the New York art scene, home to many artists. He soon developed a relationship with Michou Gallery, the earliest Asian American gallery on the East Coast, and participated in their exhibition in 1965, later touring with the American Federation of Arts After a series of white paintings in 1981, he developed the simple, quiet, enigmatic blocks of monochromatic colors for which he is now known The first of these works was the "Paintings of the World" (1966). These works, with their myriad layers negating all notions of depth and subject matter, are produced by a variety of inspirations, including the golden ratio, European painting traditions, and haiku.

Mr. Krahala received residencies at the Huntington Gallery in the late 1960s, the Yaddo Institute in Saratoga Springs in 1978, and the Ford Foundation Visiting Artist Program at the University of Washington in 1979. 1984. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 1985 for a one-year sabbatical.

During that time, Mr. Krahala frequently exhibited in New York and throughout the United States, and in many cities around the world, including Sweden, France, Italy, Denmark, and even Munich, Germany and Australia. At the same time, he continued to teach art in New York City at Pratt ・ Institute, New York University, and Brooklyn College, and took a job as an art consultant for the City of New York.

Mr. Krahala achieved brilliant results as an artist, receiving worldwide acclaim and his works sold well. However, the Lehman Brothers collapse in 2008, the subsequent Corona disaster, and the death of his wife. For the first time, he felt a sense of stagnation as an artist. However, he is now back on track and continues to create paintings. The exhibition at the Japan Gallery is a renewal for him. The exhibition will feature recent works from Mr. Krahara's hibernation period from 2010 to the present.

■ Dates ： May 12 （ Fri ） － May 25 （ Thu ）
■ Hours ： 10:00 am - 6:00 pm (Mon － Fri \Fri) / 10:00 am - 5:00 pm (Sat) / Sun Closed
■ Location ： Japan Gallery (The Japan Club 7th Floor) 145 West 57th Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10019
■ Admission Free
Admission Free <3764> Free Admission
Hosted by The Nippon Club
Organized by CAROLE DAVENPORT JAPANESE ARTS OF NEW YORK

[Contact]

gallery@nipponclub.org

Image/Video