Chizuko Yoshida

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Chizuko Yoshida (nee Inoue) (born 1924 Yokohama) is a Japanese artist. She is a modernist, whose work reflects the development of art in Japan following World War II.

She is also important as the middle link in the succession of three generations of women artists in the widely recognized Yoshida family. She is the wife of artist Hodaka Yoshida (1926-1995). Hodaka’s mother, Fujio Yoshida (1887-1987), was a noted artist alongside of her husband Hiroshi Yoshida (1876-1950). Chizuko’s daughter, Ayomi Yoshida (born 1958), is well-known for her modernist woodblock prints and room-size woodblock-chip installations. Three generations of women artists in one family is a rare phenomenon in Japanese art history.

Chizuko Inoue’s first teacher in oil painting was Fumio Kitaoka, who would become President of the Japan Art Association. In 1941 she studied design at Hongo Art Institute, then in 1949 joined the art seminar of Okamoto Tarô, a leading avant-garde artist and critic. A year later Chizuko became a member of two important art associations: the Pacific Painting Society (Taiheiyo-Gakai), established earlier by Hiroshi Yoshida and his friends, and Shuyôkai, established by Fujio Yoshida and her artist associates. Chizuko won a prize for her entry in a Shuyôkai exhibition.

Chizuko and her work would also catch the eye of Hodaka Yoshida. They attended Onchi Kôshirô’s art seminar together, held an exhibition of their oils and woodblock prints, and in 1953 were married. They were to have two children, Ayomi and Takasuke (1959- an art jewelry maker), and they would have long careers as independently inspired modern woodblock print artists. They often traveled together to destinations around the world, and occasionally held joint exhibitions.

Her woodblock prints range from geometric abstraction to music to phenomena in nature to beautiful gestures composed of butterflies or flowers. Underlying her compositions is an inner strength, the recollection of an indelible moment. A refined Japanese aesthetic prevails within her use of various modern international styles.

Chizuko has been a member of the Japanese Print Association since 1954, she also helped establish the Women’s Printmakers Association in 1954, she has exhibited in the College Women’s Association of Japan since its beginning in 1956 and in the annual Contemporary Women’s Exhibition in Ueno Museum since 1987. She has been invited to exhibit in many international art and print biennials.

The largest collection of her works can be found in the Yokohama Museum of Art, with works also in the British Museum, Art Museum of Chicago, Philadelphia Museum of Modern Art, and the Tokyo International Museum of Modern Art.

[edit] References

• Catalogue of Collections, Yokohama Museum of Art, Vol. I, 1989
• Allen, et al, A Japanese Legacy: Four Generations of Yoshida Family Artists, 2002, Minneapolis Institute of Arts.