Tabe Mitsuko

1933｜Dadong / Taiwan – 2024｜Fukuoka
Born in Taiwan under Japanese rule, Tabe (maiden name: Ishibashi) repatriated to Fukuoka in 1946. After graduating from Ukiha Girls’ High School, she studied drawing in the art section of Iwataya, the department store where she worked. During this time, she exhibited in several shows including the Fukuoka Prefectural Art Exhibition. In 1957, she joined the avant-garde artists’ collective Kyūshū-ha shortly after its formation and became one of its principal members. The following year, she married the newspaper employee Tabe Kenji and started a painting class at her home. Within Kyushu-ha, she established a distinctive artistic position that emphasized the perspectives of everyday people, creating works such as Placard and Artificial Placenta which were based on her own experiences of social activism and pregnancy. She remained a leading figure in the Fukuoka art scene and in the activities of artist-women.

Tabe Mitsuko《Breeding 1》1958-88 Fukuoka Art Museum