Iwanaka Tokujiro

8 - 26 June 1994

Hours: 9:30a.m.- 5:00 p.m.
Entry is permitted thirty minutes before the galleries are closed.
Closed: Closed on Mondays

At:Gallery

Admission: charged

Tokujiro Iwanaka was born in Wakayama-ken Nishimuro-gun Kamitonda-Cho, but in 1944 moved to Mie-ken Shima-gun, Ago-cho Ugata, where his artistry flourished. He was a Govenor prize winner at the First Prefectural Exhibition in 1948. He was also a Prefectural Exhibition judge from 1949 to 1957. Although Iwanaka is best known for his paintings of geometric abstraction, his earlier style was representational. It is a very unique point that his style drastically changed into that of abstraction in his 50’.

Iwanaka believed in universality of all artistic forms all over the world in past and present - pyramids in Egypt, the Parthenon in Greece, kofun in Japan, works by Giotto, Sesshu, and Hokusai, the Triumphal Arch in Paris, the zen garden of Ryoan-ji, or Ikenobo flower arrangement - and wrote on this theme several times. Moreover, such a law of universal foms can be applied to nature, according to Iwanaka, who tried to prove his assertion by using his own mathematical measurement and calculations. This idea may be regarded as philosophy of harmony.

Iwanaka’s works reveal the harmonious world with colors and forms. They are geometric abstraction and convey a sense of joy and life rather than inhuman coldness often found in rationalism. The artist himself might have been also sensuous rather than rationalistic. His sensitivity might be deeply associated with the beautiful nature of Nanki and Shima.

The Tokuiiro Iwanaka Exhibition is organized by Iwanaka’s hometown, Ago, and Mie Prefectural Art Museum. We hope you all enjoy the world of Tokujiro Iwanaka.