Lot Essay
Katsura Yuki was born in Tokyo and entered Tokyo High School in 1926. Although told that the study of oil painting was not an appropriate pursuit for a young lady, she was undaunted and successfully sought private instruction from established painters Ikegami Shuho (1874-1944), Nakamura Kenichi (1895-1967), and Okada Saburosuke (1869-1939).
In 1933 at the age of twenty, Katsura's piece entitled Garden won the exhibition award in the 20th Light and Wind show in Tokyo. Throughout the 1930s she questioned traditional artistic approaches and looked to contemporary movements for stimulation. She became a member of the Avant Garde Western Painting Research Center and in 1935 she had a one-person exhibition of her collages. In 1936 she exhibited her work in the 23rd Nikaten exhibition. She founded the Women Painters' Association to promote and exhibit the work of women artists in 1936.
Katsura lived in France from 1956-61 and met an influential group of abstract painters that included Sam Francis (b. 1923) and Okada Kenzo (1902-82). In 1963 she won the Mainichi Cultural Award for a book relating her experiences in Africa.
Her paintings and collages of the 1960s became simplified in form, vivid in color and humorous in outlook. Her work in the 1966, 7th Modern Japanese Art Exhibition in Tokyo, won the highest award. It was in this period that she began to incorporate tactile materials, such as cork and wood, in her collages.
Retrospective exhibitions of Katsura's work have been held at the Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum in 1980 and at the Shimonoseki Museum in 1991.
In 1933 at the age of twenty, Katsura's piece entitled Garden won the exhibition award in the 20th Light and Wind show in Tokyo. Throughout the 1930s she questioned traditional artistic approaches and looked to contemporary movements for stimulation. She became a member of the Avant Garde Western Painting Research Center and in 1935 she had a one-person exhibition of her collages. In 1936 she exhibited her work in the 23rd Nikaten exhibition. She founded the Women Painters' Association to promote and exhibit the work of women artists in 1936.
Katsura lived in France from 1956-61 and met an influential group of abstract painters that included Sam Francis (b. 1923) and Okada Kenzo (1902-82). In 1963 she won the Mainichi Cultural Award for a book relating her experiences in Africa.
Her paintings and collages of the 1960s became simplified in form, vivid in color and humorous in outlook. Her work in the 1966, 7th Modern Japanese Art Exhibition in Tokyo, won the highest award. It was in this period that she began to incorporate tactile materials, such as cork and wood, in her collages.
Retrospective exhibitions of Katsura's work have been held at the Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum in 1980 and at the Shimonoseki Museum in 1991.