TATEHATA Kakuzô

建畠覚造 (1919 – 2006)

Japanese sculptor and pioneer of post-war abstract sculpture in Japan | 1919 born in Tôkyô | 1941 graduates from the sculpture department of the “Tokyo School of Fine Arts” (now “Tokyo University of the Arts”) | 1944 after studies French at the Athénée Français he is dispatched to the “Saigon Japanese Cultural Centre” in French Indochina | 1946 returns to Japan and transitions from academic figurative work to avant-garde abstraction, influenced by Henry MOORE | 1950 becomes a founding member of the sculpture section of the “Action Art Association” (Kodo Bijutsu Kyokai) | 1959~ professor at “Tama Art University” | 2005 designated as a “Person of Cultural Merit” (bunka kōrōsha) | 2006 died