was a Japanese artist. He was trained in oil painting, and later became interested in woodblock printing.

Biography

Born in Tokyo in 1918, Kitaoka studied oil painting with

Fujishima Takeji was a Japanese people, Japanese painter, noted for his work in developing Romanticism and impressionism within the ''yoga (art), yōga'' (Western-style) art movement in late 19th- and early 20th-century Japanese painting. In his later years, he ...

at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts from 1936 to 1941. In his third and fourth years, he was instructed in woodblock printing by

Un'ichi Hiratsuka , born in Matsue, Shimane, was a Japanese woodblock printmaker. He was one of the prominent leaders of the '' sōsaku hanga'' ("creative print") movement in 20th century Japan. Hiratsuka's father was a shrine carpenter, and his grandfather was ...

. Following his graduation he worked as an art teacher in Tokyo, until 1945, when he was sent to occupied

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...

to work with the Japanese government's Northeast Asia Culture Development Society. While in Manchuria, he became interested in contemporary social-realist Chinese monochrome prints, and was inspired to create his 1947 print series ''Sōkokue no tabi'' ("Repatriation"), chronicling his difficult journey home to Japan. After his return, he began to attend evening classes with the influential

Sōsaku-hanga was an art movement of woodblock printing which was conceived in early 20th-century Japan. It stressed the artist as the sole creator motivated by a desire for self-expression, and advocated principles of art that is "self-drawn" (自画 ''jiga' ...

artist

Kōshirō Onchi , born in Tokyo, was a Japanese print-maker. He was the father of the '' sōsaku-hanga'' movement in twentieth century Japan, and a photographer. His work was part of the painting event in the art competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics. Biogr ...

, and joined his group, the First Thursday Society (一木会, ''Ichimokukai''). The Sōsaku-hanga movement advocated artistic creation as originating from the self, and promoted expressing emotions through woodblock print art. At this time, Kitaoka virtually gave up oil painting to focus on woodblock printing, contributing prints to the First Thursday Society's publication in 1947 and 1948, and his 1949 print series ''The Face of Tokyo'', five portfolios of prints documenting post-war Japan. In 1955, he moved to Paris to study wood engraving at the École des Beaux Arts, and then to the United States in 1964-5 to teach at the

Minneapolis School of Art The Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) is a private college specializing in the visual arts and located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. MCAD currently enrolls approximately 800 students. MCAD is one of just a few major art schools to offer ...

, and the

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...

in Brooklyn, New York. He served as Director of the Japanese Artists Association, and was named an honorary member of the Japan Print Association. Kitaoka died on April 23, 2007, of pneumonia.

Style and technique

Kitaoka explored both realistic and abstract styles, finally settling later in life on a style that embraced both realism and abstraction in brightly colored landscapes.

References

External links

Kitaoka's works at the Art Institute of Chicago
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kitaoka, Fumio Japanese printmakers Sosaku hanga artists Modern printmakers Artists from Tokyo 1918 births 2007 deaths Japanese expatriates in China Japanese expatriates in France Japanese expatriates in the United States