We are pleased to present a solo exhibition by Minoru Kawabata (1911–2001), a pioneering Japanese abstract painter who forged a unique artistic language at the crossroads of East and West. Born in Tokyo into a family of traditional painters, Kawabata studied oil painting under Fujishima Takeji. After moving to Paris in 1939, he was forced by the war to relocate to New York and eventually return to Japan in 1941.

In the postwar years, Kawabata gradually shifted from figurative painting to exploring the fundamental relationship between color and form. As a founding member of the Japan Abstract Art Club in 1953 and a participant in Michel Tapié’s seminal 1956 exhibition “International Art of Today,” he gained prominence as a leading figure in Japan’s avant-garde movement.

After relocating to New York in 1958, Kawabata signed with the Betty Parsons Gallery, where he held eleven solo exhibitions between 1960 and 1981. His work received global acclaim, including participation in the Venice Biennale (1962) and major retrospectives in both the U.S. and Japan.

This exhibition surveys his career across key periods — from his experimental works on paper in the 1950s, to his large-scale canvases in New York, and his later formal abstractions from the 1970s–80s. Through Kawabata’s exploration of “between color and form,” visitors will experience a sensuous visual language that bridges gesture and geometry, East and West.

Open:

11:00‒18:00 (Last entry at 17:30)

Closed:

Sundays, Mondays, and Public Holidays

Admission:

Free

Artists:

Minoru Kawabata

Group Reservations
Groups of 10 or more visitors are required to make a reservation in advance by phone or email. Please note that we may not be able to admit groups without a prior reservation. To support our exhibitions, artists, and the maintenance of the gallery, we kindly ask for a ¥3,000 donation per person for group visits (applicable to junior high school students and above; optional for elementary school children and younger). As a token of our appreciation, each donor will receive an original ICHION CONTEMPORARY tote bag.

Visitors with Young Children
To help ensure the safety of our visitors and the protection of the artworks, visitors accompanied by preschool-aged children are required to make a reservation in advance. A member of our staff will accompany you during your visit. We kindly ask that you make a reservation before your arrival. Same-day visits may be accommodated; however, admission is subject to staff availability. Thank you for your understanding.

EXHIBITION CONTENTS

Minoru Kawabata

Born in Tokyo in 1911, Minoru Kawabata hailed from a distinguished lineage of Japanese painters—his grandfather Gyokushō Kawabata and his father Shigeshō Kawabata were both accomplished Nihonga artists. Kawabata studied oil painting under Fujishima Takeji at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts (now Tokyo University of the Arts). In 1939, he moved to Paris, but with the outbreak of World War II, relocated to New York and returned to Japan via Italy in 1941. Despite wartime disruptions, he remained devoted to the exploration of abstract expression. In 1953, he co-founded the Japan Abstract Art Club with Jirō Yoshihara and Chōnan Yamaguchi, and in 1956 participated in the international exhibition Today’s Art of the World curated by Michel Tapié, gaining recognition both domestically and abroad. In 1958, Kawabata returned to the United States and based himself in New York. There, he caught the attention of gallerist Betty Parsons, a central figure in Abstract Expressionism, who hosted his first solo show at her gallery in 1960. Over the next two decades, he held eleven solo exhibitions at the Parsons Gallery, emerging as a central member of the New York School alongside figures like Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko. Kawabata also engaged with other Japanese artists active in the U.S., including Yayoi Kusama and Kenzo Okada, and represented Japan at the 1962 Venice Biennale with six works. His work received increasing recognition in both Japan and the U.S., culminating in major solo exhibitions at the Everson Museum of Art (New York, 1974) and the Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Modern Art (Japan, 1975). In 1992, retrospectives were held at the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto and the Ohara Museum of Art, followed by the Minoru Kawabata: Tokyo—New York exhibition at the Yokosuka Museum of Art in 2011, marking the tenth anniversary of his death and centennial of his birth. While his early works in the 1950s bore the influence of Cubism through geometric abstraction, his later New York period after 1958 saw a shift toward calligraphic brushwork and improvisational dynamism. In the 1960s, he developed a powerful abstract style exemplified in series such as Form in~ and Form Unity, characterized by all-over compositions of color fields and forms. From the 1980s onward, his style evolved toward structured and vivid compositions incorporating motifs such as “rectangles,” “gates,” and “robes.” Kawabata aimed to crystallize psychological landscapes into visual language. His canvases—marked by symbolic forms emerging from dense color fields and expressive contrasts of hue—resonated with Abstract Expressionism and Color Field painting, yet remained distinctly his own through a synthesis of Eastern spirituality and formal sensitivity. As a pioneering figure who expanded postwar Japanese abstraction onto the international stage, his legacy continues to be highly regarded today.

Major Collections:

Artizon Museum, Itabashi Art Museum, The Wolu Museum of Art, Ohara Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art Kamakura & Hayama, The National Museum of Modern Art Kyoto, The Museum of Fine Arts Gifu, Kure Municipal Museum of Art, The National Museum of Art Osaka, Sakura Art Museum, Takamatsu Art Museum, Tama Art University Museum, Chiba City Museum of Art, The University Art Museum of Tokyo University of the Arts, The National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo, The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Yokosuka Museum of Art, Yokohama Museum of Art, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, São Paulo Museum of Modern Art, Elder Gallery (Wesleyan University), Everson Museum of Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, The Newark Museum of Art

Biography

1911
Born in Tokyo, Japan. His father, Shigeaki Kawabata, is a Japanese painter. His grandfather, Gyokusho Kawabata, is a member of the Maruyama School.
1934
Graduated from Tokyo School of Fine Arts, Japan.
1939
Studied in Paris, Italy and New York.
1942
Held one-man-exhibition in the Mitsukoshi Ginza and then received a prize of Sabun.
1950
Became a professor of Art at Tama Art University, Tokyo.
1951
Exhibited works in The 3rd Salon des Indépendants and The 1st São Paulo Art Biennial. Held one-man-exhibition in the Shiseido Gallery.
1953
Formed “The Japan Abstraction Art Club” with Jiro Yoshiwara, Masanari Murai and Takeo Yamaguchi, then joined it.
1955
Exhibited works in the 18th International Watercolor Biennale (The Brooklyn Museum, New York) with Taro Okamoto, Masanari Murai, Yuki Katsura and Yayoi Kusama.
1956
Held one-man-exhibition at the Matsuya Ginza. Exhibited works in “Exhibition of Contemporary Art in the World” (Takashimaya, Tokyo)
1958
Left Japan for United States. Received an individual honor prize of The 2nd Guggenheim International Contemporary Art Exhibition of Japan. Exhibited works in The Pittsburgh International Contemporary Painting and Sculpture. Held one-man-exhibition at the Matsuya Ginza.
1959
Received a prize in the 5th São Paulo Art Biennial. Received an honor prize of the 11th Premio Lissone(Milano) . Became a professor at the New School for Social Research, New York.
1960
Exhibited works in The Guggenheim International. Exhibited works in The Japanese Abstract Paintings (The Gres Gallery, Washington, D.C.) with Kenzo Okada, Yuki Katsura, Yayoi Kusama, Takeo Yamaguchi and Toshinobu Onosato. Held one-man-exhibition at the Betty Parsons Gallery, NewYork. (10 times until 1982.)
1961
Held one-man-exhibition at the Apollinaire Gallery, Milano. Exhibited works in the 12th Premio Lissone,the Carnegie International and the Guggenheim international.
1962
Exhibited works in “The Four Painters in the U.S.” (The Molton Gallery, London), “The Contemporary Paintings” (Yale University Art Gallery), the Venice Biennale Exhibition and the Guggenheim International.
1963
Received a prize of Bridgestone Museum of Art at the 7th Japan International Art Exhibition. Exhibited works in The New Experiments in Art (The Cordoba Museum of Fine Arts), The Review of the Season, The Guggenheim International “and The University of Colorado Art Exhibition. Held one-man-exhibition at Tokyo Gallery.
1965
Exhibited works in “The Japanese Artists in Europe and the U.S.” (the National Museum of Modern Art, Kanagawa) , “The New Japanese painting and Sculpture” (San Francisco Museum of Art and The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
1966
Exhibited works in “The 150 years of Modern Japanese European aPintings” (The Museum of Modern Art , Kanagawa), “The international Exhibition” (Pilot Galleries, Lausanne) and The University of Colorado At rExhibition.
1969
Exhibited works in the Contemporary Painting and Sculpture (The Bristol Art Museum, Rhode Island), the Phillips Collection Exhibition (Washington, D.C.).
1973
Exhibited works in The Japanese Artists in U.S.A. (The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto & Tokyo, Japan) and The Development of Postwar Japanese Art: Abstract and Non-figurative (The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan)
1974
Held one-man-exhibition at the Everson Museum, New York.
1975
Held one-man- exhibition at the National Museum of Modern Art in Kanagawa and exhibited 80 works and 59 drawings.
1978
Held one-man-exhibition at Tokyo Gallery., Tokyo.
1983
Group Exhibition at the Annely Juda Gallery in London. Held one-man-exhibition in the Tokyo Gallery and the Jack Tilton Gallery (New York)
1992
The exhibition of “Minoru Kawabata Proudly Independent Tracks 35 years in the U.S.”

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