SwissArtGallery · Documented identity
The career of Toshimitsu Imaï, a Japanese painter born and deceased in Kyoto, is marked by a shift from painting close to Fauvism to abstraction, followed by the return of traditional Japanese motifs in the Ka-Cho-Fu-Get-Su series. Born on 6 May 1928, he died there on 3 March 2002. In 1950, he spends a year at the Tokyo University of Fine Art, where he becomes familiar with oil painting. He receives the Kansai-Shinseisaku Prize in 1951, followed by the prize of the 15th Salon Shinseisaku in 1952. In 1953 and 1954, he exhibits in Paris at the Salon de l’art sacré. Introduced to the art critic Michel Tapié by Sam Francis in 1955, he subsequently associates with Tapié; his painting, until then close to Fauvism, becomes abstract. This development does not eliminate figurative motifs: Imaï also incorporates poems and texts into his work.
In 1960, he is invited to the 30th Venice Biennale. Two years later, he receives a prize at the 5th Japanese Contemporary Art Exhibition, while the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, acquires several of his paintings. In the late 1960s, he begins creating murals for restaurants in Tokyo and Paris. The Centre Pompidou acquires several of his paintings in 1976; his work is exhibited there in 1982. From 1985, the Ka-Cho-Fu-Get-Su series («Beauties of Nature») marks a departure from informal abstraction. In it, Imaï takes up repetitive traditional Japanese motifs and also works on folding screens. In 1988, he exhibits at Galerie Bonnier in Geneva and creates a four-handed performance with Roberto Matta.
This profile brings together identity references for Toshimitsu Imai and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.
Artcurial Beurret Bailly Widmer · Germann
References include catalogue entries and available results; they do not all represent completed sales. Attributed works and special lots are excluded from the priced results.
Oil on paper on board
Composition
Öl auf Papier auf Karton
Catalogue period : 2020-09-23
Published result : 11546 CHF
Including buyer’s premium
Estimate : CHF 6000–8000
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Oil on paper
Composition, 1962
Öl auf Papier
Catalogue period : 2020-09-23
Published result : 9116 CHF
Including buyer’s premium
Estimate : CHF 6000–8000
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Oil on paper
Rideau, 1962
Öl auf Papier
Catalogue period : 2020-09-23
Published result : 7900 CHF
Including buyer’s premium
Estimate : CHF 6000–8000
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Oil on canvas
Ohne Titel, 1961
huile sur toile
Catalogue period : 2019-06-19
Published result : 20662 CHF
Including buyer’s premium
Estimate : CHF 10000–15000
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Oil on cardboard
Komposition, 1962
Öl auf Karton.
Date to be documented
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
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Oil on cardboard
Komposition, 1962
Öl auf Karton.
Date to be documented
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
View the lot at the auction house ↗SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record.
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