was a Japanese artist, most known for her abstract paintings.

Early life and education

Yokoi was born in 1924 in

Nagoya, Aichi is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

, and soon after moved to Tsushima, Japan. In 1947, she painted portraits of several U.S. Army officers' wives, including Jean Barnett Alexander, the wife of Lt. John A. Alexander. In the late 40s she studied with the

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

painter Takanori Kinoshita in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. After winning prizes in the Issuikai and Nitten Exhibitions between 1949 and 1951, she moved to the United States in 1953, and studied at the

California School of Fine Arts San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a private college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mississippi River. Approximately ...

(now

San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a private college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mississippi River. Approximately ...

). In New York she studied with

Hans Hofmann Hans Hofmann (March 21, 1880 – February 17, 1966) was a German-born American painter, renowned as both an artist and teacher. His career spanned two generations and two continents, and is considered to have both preceded and influenced Abstrac ...

, and with Julian Levi at the

Art Students League The Art Students League of New York is an art school at American Fine Arts Society, 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists ...

. In New York her style shifted away from objective Impressionism, becoming increasingly abstract.

Career

As of 2010, Yokoi has held almost 80 solo exhibitions since 1954. She has held exhibitions at the

California Palace of the Legion of Honor The Legion of Honor, formally known as the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, is an art museum in San Francisco, California. Located in Lincoln Park, the Legion of Honor is a component of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, which also ...

, the Seibu Art Forum, and the Galerie Kornfeld in

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

, among others. She has won prizes at the Philadelphia Annual Exhibition in 1957, the Washington Biennale, and the San Francisco annual art exhibition. In November 2004, the Teruko Yokoi Hinagashi Museum was founded in

Ena, Gifu 300px, Ena City Hall is a city located in Gifu, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 48,777, and a population density of 96.7 persons per km², in 19,820 households. The total area of the city was . Geography Ena is located in the ...

, and in 2008, the Yokoi Teruko Fuji Museum of Art was founded in

Fuji, Shizuoka is a city in eastern Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 245,015 in 106,087 households, and a population density of 1,000 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Fuji is the third largest city in terms o ...

. In 2014, at 90, Yokoi created works for a benefit exhibition, with the proceeds from the paintings going to UNESCO Biosphere Entlebuch."

Personal life

Yokoi married the painter

Sam Francis Samuel Lewis Francis (June 25, 1923 – November 4, 1994) was an American painter and printmaker. Early life Sam Francis was born in San Mateo, California,

, with whom she had a daughter. Yokoi died on 28 October 2020, aged 96.

Books

* ''Comme un petit coquelicot'' (1986) * ''Die fünf Jahreszeiten. Les cinq saisons. The five seasons: Teruko Yokoi'' (1990) * ''Teruko Yokoi - Schnee Mond Blumen'' (2009) * ''Mond-Sonne Jahrezeiten'' (2010) * ''70 years of artist life of Teruko Yokoi -Japanese Poems drawn in Switzerland'' (2015)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yokoi, Teruko 1924 births 2020 deaths 20th-century Japanese painters 21st-century Japanese painters 20th-century Japanese women artists 20th-century Japanese artists 21st-century Japanese women artists 21st-century Japanese artists Abstract painters Japanese women painters Japanese expatriates in Switzerland San Francisco Art Institute alumni Art Students League of New York alumni