The Work of Tadaaki Kuwayama

Tadaaki Kuwayama and his wife, the artist RakukoNaito, arrived in New York in 1958. Leavingbehind the traditions of Japanese 'nihonga painting', they became part of the cutting edge ofthe '60s American art scene. A contemporary ofMinimalists such as Dan Flavin, Walter De Maria,and Donald Judd, Kuwayama soon developedhis own distinctive style, typified by vivid fields ofpaint juxtaposed in horizontal and vertical compositions,as well as monochromatic canvasesbisected by thin strips of chrome. Following twosolo exhibitions at the renowned Green Galleryin 1961 and 1962, his work was shown until todayin many important galleries and museumsthroughout the world, not only in the USA, but alsoin Germany, Switzerland, Israel, and - not toforget - in his home country, Japan.'In contrast to the painterly, dramatic style ofabstract expressionism, in Kuwayama's work wesee none of the emotional push of a Barnett Newman,none of the tonal atmospheres of an AdReinhardt. Kuwayama's paintings were daring intheir existence: completely stark. Each arrived atthrough simplicity, clarity, and finally the richnessof their color augmented only when using reflectivemetallic paints. As Kuwayama explained in a1964 statement: 'Ideas, thoughts, philosophy, reasons,meanings, even the humanity of the artist,do not enter into my work at all. There is only theart itself. That is all.' Today Kuwayama's art retainsthat spirit of purity. Steadfastly monochromatic,the formula for these works remains linkedto his earlier compositions: single geometric elementsthat are repeated to form a larger whole.His use of metallic paint on canvas in the earlypaintings of the '60s and '70s has given way toworks that use other materials such as aluminumand titanium. Still a colorist at heart, Kuwayamaachieved the unique color of these paintings byanodizing the metal, a chemical process thatdyes the surface of the metal so that it reflectscolor (something of the 19th-century theories ofthe French pointillistslike Signac