Tanaka Tazuko

1913｜Incheon / Korea – 2015｜Tokyo
Born in Korea under Japanese rule, Tanaka grew up in Qingdao, China until the age of 16. At 17, she entered Private Women’s School of Fine Arts (now Joshibi University of Art and Design), but left after one semester. In 1940, she enrolled in the newly established Women’s Division of Tama Imperial Art School (now Tama Art University). During the war, she joined the Women Artists Service Corps. After losing her home in an air raid, she experienced what she described as “a world of nothingness enveloped in flames,” something she later evoked through abstract expression. In 1955, she participated in the Abstract Art Exhibition: Japan and U.S.A. at The National Museum Modern Art, Tokyo, as well as several other major international exhibitions.

Tanaka Tazuko《Nada》 c.1961 Nara Prefectural Museum of Art