STANDING PINE

Hideko Fukushima Solo Exhibition

STANDING PINE Tokyo is pleased to present a solo exhibition by Hideko Fukushima (1927–1997), one of the leading female abstract painters in postwar Japan, opening on Saturday, 12 April 2025. The exhibition will feature 14 works that reflect Fukushima’s long-standing engagement with fundamental forms and colour—most notably the circle and the colour blue—as well as her signature stamping (kataoshi) technique.

Born in Tokyo in 1927, Fukushima graduated from Bunka Gakuin and, in 1951, became a founding member of the avant-garde collective “Jikken Kōbō” (Experimental Workshop), named by the poet and critic Shūzō Takiguchi alongside Shōzō Kitadai and Katsuhiro Yamaguchi. While the group engaged in an interdisciplinary practice that spanned visual art, music, film, and performance, Fukushima created costumes and stage sets for ballet productions and collaborated with her younger brother, Kazuo Fukushima—also a member of the collective—on slide-based projection works within this shared experimental framework.

In parallel with these collaborative activities, Fukushima remained deeply committed to developing her own abstract expression in painting. In the early stages of her career, influenced by contemporaries such as Nobuya Abe and broader postwar trends, she created works that abstracted human faces, bodies, and plants.

Her interest gradually shifted toward more distilled forms of abstraction, and by the mid-1950s she had developed a unique stamping technique in which she applied pigment to the cross-sections of cans, bottles, and sometimes what appeared to be dog bones, pressing them onto paper or canvas. Through this act of “stamping”, she produced circular, rectangular, and linear forms, layering pigments and intersecting them with dynamic, textured brushstrokes to construct her distinctive abstract compositions. Among these, the circular form, in particular, became a recurring and central element in her compositions.

Fukushima’s works found resonance with the Art Informel movement flourishing in Europe during the 1950s and received critical acclaim from both Japanese and international critics, most notably the French critic Michel Tapié. This recognition opened the door to exhibitions across Europe, expanding her visibility on the global art stage.

Over time, while experimenting with various materials—including collages incorporating paraffin wax—Fukushima gradually moved away from the dark brown palette and circular forms characteristic of her work in the 1960s. By the 1970s, she became increasingly drawn to the colour blue—a hue deeply associated with water, which the artist is said to have been deeply fascinated by. This colour seems to reflect her quiet and introspective approach to painting and evokes in the viewer a sense of surrender to the passage of time.

In recent years, as abstract art by female artists has received renewed global attention, Fukushima’s practice has also been re-examined. We hope this exhibition offers an opportunity to engage with her work anew through a contemporary lens in response to the renewed interest in women’s contributions to postwar abstraction.We warmly invite you to visit the exhibition.

Date: Saturday, 12 April – Saturday, 10 May
Hours: 12:00 – 18:00 (From Tuesday to Saturday)
　　　 Closed on Sundays, Mondays, and national holidays
Opening reception: Saturday, 12 April, 17:00 – 19:00

72.5 ×53 cm / Oil and enamel on canvas / 1958

Biography
Hideko Fukushima was born in 1927 in Tokyo. After graduating from Bunka Gakuin, she co-founded the avant-garde art group Shichiyōkai in 1948 with Shōzō Kitadai, Katsuhiro Yamaguchi, and others. In 1951, she joined “Jikken Kōbō,” a collective named by poet and critic Shūzō Takiguchi, and engaged in interdisciplinary expressions spanning the performing arts, film, and visual art. While working across multiple media as part of a comprehensive artistic practice, she also pursued her own approach to abstract painting.

In the mid-1950s, she developed a unique stamping (kataoshi) technique that brought circular, rectangular, and linear forms to the surface without using a brush. Through this method, she deepened her own mode of expression.

Her work was exhibited consistently in Japan and abroad from the 1950s through the 1990s. With the support of French critic Michel Tapié, she expanded her international presence, including a trip to France following her participation in the 1961 “Paris Biennale for Young Artists”. Throughout her career, she maintained a quiet and exploratory stance, incorporating different approaches in each period—such as her monochrome Arc series, paintings centred on blue, and collages using paraffin wax.

Her works are included in the collections of institutions such as the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo; Chiba City Museum of Art; Takamatsu Art Museum; Itabashi Art Museum; and Tate Modern. Notable exhibitions include “Special Exhibition: Hideko Fukushima – Chronicle 1964–” (Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, 2012), “Tokyo 1955–1970: A New Avant-Garde” (The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2013), and “Jikken Kōbō: Pioneering Postwar Art” (2013–2014, toured across Japan).


1927: Born in Tokyo, Japan.
1943: Graduated from Bunka Gakuin.
1949: Exhibited at the 3rd “Women’s Art Exhibition”, Tokyo Metropolitan ArtMuseum (also participated in the 4th and 7th editions).
1951: Joined the “Jikken Kōbō” (Experimental Workshop).
1955: Solo exhibition at Muramatsu Gallery / Participated in the 18th“International Watercolor Biennial Exhibition”, Brooklyn Museum, New York.
1957: Participated in the “World Contemporary Art Exhibition”, BridgestoneMuseum of Art.
1958: Participated in “New Painting: World—Informel and Gutai”, organisedby The Sankei Shimbun and The Osaka Shimbun.
1959: Solo exhibition at Muramatsu Gallery / Participated in the 11th “PremioLissone”, Italy (also participated in the 12th edition).
1960: Awarded the Second Mizue Prize for “Work 81”/ Awarded Second Prize at the 4th “Shell Art Award Exhibition”.
1961: Participated in the 6th “International Art Exhibition of Japan”, TokyoMetropolitan Art Museum (organised by Mainichi Newspapers) / Participated in the “Paris Biennale for Young Artists” and travelled to Europe.
1963: Solo exhibition at Minami Gallery.
1965: Participated in the “Contemporary Japanese Art Exhibition”, Switzerland.
1975: Solo exhibition at Nantenshi Gallery.1976: Solo exhibition at Aoi Gallery.
1979: Solo exhibition at Nantenshi Gallery.
1980: Participated in “Shell Art Award: Exhibition of Past Winners”, TokyoCentral Museum of Art.
1981: Participated in “Trends in Contemporary Art 1: Darkness and Light inthe 1950s”, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum.
1982: Participated in the 1st “Contemporary Art Festival—Shuzo Takiguchi and Postwar Art”, Toyama Prefectural Museum of Modern Art / Solo exhibition at Nantenshi Gallery.
1986: Participated in “Avant-Garde Arts in Japan 1910–1970”, Centre Pompidou, Paris / Solo exhibition at Nantenshi Gallery.
1987: Solo exhibition at Gallery Bunka Gakuin / Participated in “Dialogue with Beauty ’87”, Toyama Prefectural Museum of Modern Art.
1988: Solo exhibition at Gallery Bunka Gakuin / Participated in “Japanese Cutting-Edge Art Exhibition”, Taiwan Provincial Museum of Art (now the National Taiwan Museum) / Participated in “Trends in Contemporary Art—Painting PART 2”, Toyama Prefectural Museum of Modern Art.
1989: Participated in “Cross-Section of Contemporary Painting—Structures of Repetition”, Takamatsu Art Museum.
1990: Participated in “The Forest of Tokyo Avant-Garde 1946–1956”, Itabashi Art Museum.
1991: Participated in the 11th “Homage to Shuzo Takiguchi—Jikken Kōbō and Shuzo Takiguchi”, Satani Gallery.
1992: Solo exhibition “12th Homage to Shuzo Takiguchi—Hideko Fukushima: Works 1948–1988”, Satani Gallery.
1997: Passed away.
2009: Participated in “Jikken Kōbō: Japan 1951–1958”, Annely Juda Fine Art, London.
2011: Participated in “Jikken Kōbō Exhibition”, Bétonsalon, Paris.
2012: Featured in “Chronicle 1964–OFF MUSEUM”, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo.
2013: Participated in “Jikken Kōbō: Pioneering Postwar Art”, Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura & Hayama (toured nationwide) / Participated in “Tokyo 1955–1970: A New Avant-Garde”, Museum of Modern Art, New York.
2017: Solo exhibition at Tokyo Publishing House.
2023: Participated in “MOT Collection: Pleased to meet you”, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo.
2024: Participated in “Intersecting Modernities: Japanese Art in the Context of Asian Art”, The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto.

Public Collections
Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo

The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
Takamatsu Art Museum
Ohara Museum of Art
Itabashi Art Museum
Chiba City Museum of Art
Tate Modern, London

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