Rikio Takahashi

An original member of the First Thursday Society of Japanese printmakers, Rikio Takahashi’s work formed part of the resurgence of artist printmaking in Japan following the Second World War. Born in 1917 in Tokyo, Takahashi originally trained as an oil painter, moving his focus to printmaking as a pupil of Onchi Kôshirô between 1949 and 1955. Abstract art was banned by the Japanese government during wartime, and the 1950s saw its rebirth as the foremost style of contemporary Japanese prints. After Takahashi completed his training under Kôshirô, concentrating primarily on woodblock techniques, he studied further at the California Institute of Art, and remained active in printmaking until his death.

Takahashi’s collaboration with Kenneth Tyler followed a strong tradition of artistic exchange between America and Japan in the post-war period. Titled Nest, the print in the NGA collection was produced at the Gemini workshop in 1965. It is representative of Takahashi’s typical mode of abstraction, with depth created by tonal layers and the image vaguely reminiscent of the natural forms Takahashi found so inspiring. 

Gwen Horsfield

NATIONAL GALLERY PUBLICATIONS

• Workshop: The Kenneth Tyler Collection, Jane Kinsman (ed.), 2015