Bio

Keiko Minami, orphaned at a young age, expressed an early interest in the arts. She both painted and wrote poetry in high school, and studied the art of children's stories under the Japanese novelist and poet Sakae Tsuboi. Her artistic style was influenced by such artists as Paul Klee, Hamaguchi Yōzō, Johnny Friedlaender, Mori Yoshio, and Japanese print artists. After the war, Keiko moved to Tokyo to create children's books, and it was there that she met her future husband, the mezzotint artist Hamaguchi Yōzō. Keiko and Yōzō moved to Paris in late 1953 where Keiko began studying under Johnny Friedlaender, a pioneer in aquatint etching.

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Career

Soon after beginning her study of aquatint etching under Johnny Friedlaender, Keiko sold one of her early works to the city of Paris. In the late 1950s, Keiko's works were reproduced and sold as greeting cards by both the Museum of Modern Art and UNICEF. In 1961, Heinz Berggruen, a dealer in modern prints known for his collection of 20th-century masterpieces, became Keiko's exclusive art dealer.

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Timeline

1911

• Born in Toyama, Japan

1927-29

• Attended the School of Fine Arts Tokyo (東京美術学校), now called Tokyo University of the Arts (東京藝術大学)

Late 1953

• Moved to Paris and began to study aquatint etching

1959

• Named the official artist of the United Nations, 1959

1961

• Sold one of her early works to the city of Paris
• Entered into a contract with German art dealer Heinz Berggruen

1982

• Moved to San Francisco with her husband, the mezzotint artist Hamaguchi Yōzō

1996

• Returned to Japan after more than forty years abroad

2004

• Died in her early 90s