Lot Essay
Born on May 4, 1904 in Tokyo, Saito Yoshishige began to paint in oils at an early age. While still in junior high school he met the artist Nakashino Toshio (1900-1948) and was influenced by his work. At the same time an inspiring exhibition of Italian Futurist paintings held in Tokyo impressed the young artist and further encouraged his artistic endeavors.
In 1930 Saito started to use materials that were to become key elements in his mature work. With built-up oil pigments and painted wood applied directly to the surface of his work Saito created works in relief. These pictures were not easily accepted by the public as they did not seem to be either painting or sculpture. At this time he joined an avant-garde, Western-style painting center in Surugadai, where he worked with Koga Harue (1895-1933) and Togo Seiji (1897-1976).
In 1936 Saito began to exhibit his work frequently and in 1939 he helped establish the Bijutsu Bunka Kyokai, a cultural art group with which he was affiliated until 1953. In 1954 he moved to Urayasu in Chiba Prefecture. He won an award for a painting entitled Oni (Demon), at the Fourth International Art Exhibition in 1957. In the same year Work no. 1, shown in an exhibition entitled New Artists of Today, established Saito as a recognized abstract artist. In 1960 he received a Guggenheim Fellowship. In 1961 his Work no. 10, (sold in these Rooms on April 22, 1992, sale number 7486, lot 143) won the International painting award at the Sao Paulo Biennale. This prize and the inclusion of four of his paintings in the exhibition The New Japanese Painting and Sculpture which traveled throughout the United States between 1965-1967 confirmed his international stature.
During his tenure as Professor of Fine Arts at Tama Art College Saito, recognized as one of the most significant pioneers of abstract art in Japan, influenced a generation of artists who have emerged as important figures in contemporary Japanese art. When he retired in 1973 he traveled throughout Europe and reconstructed earlier works from the latter part of the 1930s and early 1940s that had been destroyed during the war. His work was shown in several one-man and two-man exhibitions in Europe. He has had two major retrospectives, the first entitled Yoshishige Saito, was held at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo in 1978 and the second, entitled Yoshishige Saito -- Time, Space, Wood, was held at the Yokohama Museum of Art and Tokushima Modern Art Museum in 1993. Other large exhibitions include Yoshishige Saito at the Kanagawa Prefectural Gallery in 1977, and the Saito Yoshishige Exhibition 1984 organized jointly by the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tochigi Prefectural Museum of Fine Arts, and the Ohara Museum of Art. The following year he was awarded the 1984 Asahi Prize. In 1986 his work was included in the exhibition Japon des Avant-Gardes 1910-1970, held at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, and in 1989 he exhibited with the abstract painter, Yamaguchi Takeo (1902-1983) at the Musee d'Art Moderne in Brussels as part of Europalia 89.
Another large painting by Saito, Untitled (red), dated 1962, was sold in these Rooms on April 27, 1994, sale number 7898, lot 24, in Contemporary Japanese Art from the Estate of Blanchette H. Rockefeller.
In 1930 Saito started to use materials that were to become key elements in his mature work. With built-up oil pigments and painted wood applied directly to the surface of his work Saito created works in relief. These pictures were not easily accepted by the public as they did not seem to be either painting or sculpture. At this time he joined an avant-garde, Western-style painting center in Surugadai, where he worked with Koga Harue (1895-1933) and Togo Seiji (1897-1976).
In 1936 Saito began to exhibit his work frequently and in 1939 he helped establish the Bijutsu Bunka Kyokai, a cultural art group with which he was affiliated until 1953. In 1954 he moved to Urayasu in Chiba Prefecture. He won an award for a painting entitled Oni (Demon), at the Fourth International Art Exhibition in 1957. In the same year Work no. 1, shown in an exhibition entitled New Artists of Today, established Saito as a recognized abstract artist. In 1960 he received a Guggenheim Fellowship. In 1961 his Work no. 10, (sold in these Rooms on April 22, 1992, sale number 7486, lot 143) won the International painting award at the Sao Paulo Biennale. This prize and the inclusion of four of his paintings in the exhibition The New Japanese Painting and Sculpture which traveled throughout the United States between 1965-1967 confirmed his international stature.
During his tenure as Professor of Fine Arts at Tama Art College Saito, recognized as one of the most significant pioneers of abstract art in Japan, influenced a generation of artists who have emerged as important figures in contemporary Japanese art. When he retired in 1973 he traveled throughout Europe and reconstructed earlier works from the latter part of the 1930s and early 1940s that had been destroyed during the war. His work was shown in several one-man and two-man exhibitions in Europe. He has had two major retrospectives, the first entitled Yoshishige Saito, was held at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo in 1978 and the second, entitled Yoshishige Saito -- Time, Space, Wood, was held at the Yokohama Museum of Art and Tokushima Modern Art Museum in 1993. Other large exhibitions include Yoshishige Saito at the Kanagawa Prefectural Gallery in 1977, and the Saito Yoshishige Exhibition 1984 organized jointly by the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tochigi Prefectural Museum of Fine Arts, and the Ohara Museum of Art. The following year he was awarded the 1984 Asahi Prize. In 1986 his work was included in the exhibition Japon des Avant-Gardes 1910-1970, held at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, and in 1989 he exhibited with the abstract painter, Yamaguchi Takeo (1902-1983) at the Musee d'Art Moderne in Brussels as part of Europalia 89.
Another large painting by Saito, Untitled (red), dated 1962, was sold in these Rooms on April 27, 1994, sale number 7898, lot 24, in Contemporary Japanese Art from the Estate of Blanchette H. Rockefeller.