Skip to main content

Tadashi Asoma - US/Japanese Artist; B. 1923, Iwatsuki, Japan

"Reclining Nude" 1962 - Oil on Canvas
Size: 19.9 X 24.1 in. 
Signed LRC:  '62 Asoma
Provenance: Gabriel Rosenfeld, Chappaqua, NY (French Legion of Honor)
Sold at Swann Galleries, NYC, March 2000

The Signature is 正 (the Japanese Kanji Symbol for Tadashi), and then below Asoma ‘62.

Tadashi Asoma 

Tadashi Asoma is a wonderful American success story. Born in 1923 in pre-war Japan, he received his higher education at Saitama Teachers College, Urawa (a Saitama ward), the Bijitsu Gakko (Tokyo University of the Arts), Tokyo. In 1952 he held his first exhibit in Tokyo, and then four later he was awarded a Japanese Government scholarship to study in Paris, at the Grand Chaumiere.

After studying in Paris he arrived in New York City, where he continued studying at the Art Students League. Tadashi Asoma’s first major show was held in 1961 at the Japan Society in New York and San Francisco. These early years in New York were spent living in an apartment near the East Village (619 East 11th Street). He had a studio close by where he painted during the day. During the evening hours he worked at a restaurant to support his family - a very Japanese thing to do. 
 
The painting illustrated here comes from his early break-out years, where he becomes intrigued with America’s contemporary art scene. The painting: Reclining Nude (1962) is totally abstract with paint drips and blurred lines, it is reflective of his early work, yet still in his style today. He has loved the power of color over the years, and his current work still takes on bright, bold yellows, greens, and purples, as demonstrated by his 2012 show at the Wally Findlay Galleries, entitled: Momijigari. The Wally Findlay show also demonstrated how he loved the seasonal landscapes that express the wide-array of colors, another Japanese attribute.

Asoma is known to contemporary art collectors, he has had numerous one-person exhibits in New York, with extensive exhibits in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. He is included in prominent corporate collections including American Express, Atlantic Richfield, IBM, the Marriott Corporation and Toshiba America. Now in his early 90s and still living in a little village north of Manhattan, his artistic career has lasted over six decades.

Other Notable Collections:
  • Andrew Dickson White Museum
  • Nelson Museum
  • San Diego Museum of Art
  • The Foundry School Museum
  • Tokyo Central Museum, Tokyo
  • Ginza Matsuya, Tokyo
  • Port Washington Public Library
Asoma Gallery/Dealer in the 1960s:
________________________________________________

"Great art collecting need not be based on a fortune; instead education, experience and eye are more important" The Waller-Yoblonsky Blogspot.
Waller-Yoblonsky Fine Art is a research collaborative, working to track artists that got lost and overlooked due to time, changing styles, race, gender and/or sexual orientation. Our frequent blogs highlight artists and art movements that need renewed attention with improved information for the researcher and art collectors.  #waller-yoblonskyblogspot #tadashiasoma #asoma #japaneseart

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Japanese Wooden Dolls: Kokeshi-Ningyo "こけし-人形"

This article is dedicated to my Japanese (nihongo) Sensei, Atsuko Kuwana, who helped me learn to speak Japanese. Collectors come in all varieties, some plan their collections, others start by chance.  I saw my first kokeshi(こけし) wooden doll in 2005 while participating in a grassroutes exchange program between the U.S. and Japan.  I was staying with a family near Nagoya and the couple’s young daughter had one.  Years later when I was named a Mike Mansfield Fellow from the U.S. government to the Japanese government, and was living in Japan, I would see them frequently at flea markets and souvenir shops next to the natural hot spring resorts in the area known as Tohoku.  Before leaving for Japan, I studied all things Japanese at the George Shultz Foreign Service Institute (FSI), including a professor that covered domestic and family life and some short statements on kokeshi.  After arriving in Japan, the National Personnel Authority ( jinjiin ) was responsible for my continued studies, b

MARCEL (Marcella Anderson) Torpedo Factory Artist

Marcella Anderson and/or Marcy Anderson (1946 - 2015) was better known as "MARCEL", a popular serigraph/silkscreen artist, at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in historic Old Town Alexandria, VA. She maintained a gallery and work space at the Torpedo Factory from 1976 to 2015. At the top of the stairs on the 3rd floor was this large light filled studio with a charming blonde woman surrounded by her silkscreens. In the early 80s, her work consisted mostly of water reptiles, fish, birds and environmental scenes. She kept with nature themes during most of her time at the studio. Her obituary stated: "Marcel was known for her bold, yet sensitive, use of color and design. Her images in all media reflected her love of nature. Her glowing color, both intense and delicate, was achieved through the use of transparent layers of color." Marcel was born and raised in Seattle, Washington and studied at the Cornish School of Allied Arts. Before arriving in the DC area, she had

Leonard Thorpe, Modern British Artist

Thorpe, a totally modern artist, used London and the bucolic country side as his muse.  Clearly the London cityscape was his inspiration.  He painted all the city sights:  St. Paul's Cathedral, the Parliament, the Palace of Westminster, the Beefeaters at the Palace, the Victorian Memorial, Big Ben, the Monument and of course Trafalgar Square.  These London landmarks are painted with affirming gestures in moody blues and graphic grays.  His palette knife application technique, along with his brush work was applied in a quick layer over the oil underpainting.  There is an appearance of buildup-so caked on, that the results look molten.  This methodology created textured impressions right on the canvas.  He combined architectural details with spontaneous happenings.    His color palette frequently includes red double-decker buses, Beefeater guards or flags that add balance to his moody paintings.  In " St. Paul's Cathedral " below, Thorpe presents a rainy evening with