Shuzo Takiguchi and the Artists of Takemiya Gallery

In 1951, the Takemiya Western Art Materials Store, which had operated in Surugadaishita, Kanda (present-day Kandaogawamachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) since before the war, was rebuilt. The store underwent extensive renovations, and a new exhibition space was added, leading to the establishment of Takemiya Gallery.
The store’s owner, Masahito Kakei, envisioned providing artists with a venue to exhibit their work free of charge. With the support of Masao Tsuruoka and Nobuya Abe, he entrusted ShuzoTakiguchi with full responsibility for selecting artists and coordinating exhibitions. From its opening in June 1951 until its closure in April 1957, the gallery hosted 208 solo and group exhibitions.
In the early 1950s, when Takemiya Gallery first opened, most artists presented their work through juried exhibitions held by public art organizations or exhibitions organized by the art associations they belonged to. At the same time, the Yomiuri Independent Exhibition, which offered no prizes and had no jury selection, was launched in 1949 and began attracting artists seeking to break free from traditional frameworks. For Takiguchi, who believed solo exhibitions were more meaningful than group shows, Takemiya Gallery became an experimental space where new forms of expression could take shape and an important site where he could witness art in the process of becoming.
At Takemiya Gallery, Takiguchi worked closely with artists, regardless of their reputation, and offered his curatorial support free of charge. He selected works by himself, spoke directly with the artists, and wrote accompanying texts. Early exhibitions focused on artists who had been active since before the war, such as Nobuya [Yoshifumi] Abe, HamaoHamada, Ei-kyu, Tatsuoki Nanbata, and Masao Tsuruoka. Over time, the gallery began showcasing younger, then-unknown artists, including members of the group “Experimental Workshop”, which he himself had named. Artists who would later become leading figures in Japanese contemporary art, like Ay-o,Tatsuo Ikeda, On Kawara, Mitsuo Kano, Yayoi Kusama, and Gyoji Nomiyama, were also featured. After Takemiya Gallery closed, Takiguchi continued to maintain relationships with many of the artists he had encountered through his work at Takemiya Gallery. From the 1960s onward, after stepping away from critical writing to focus on creating visual works such as decalcomania, he continued to contribute texts for their exhibitions and occasionally produced collaborative works, further deepening his exploration of artistic expression through new forms.
This exhibition presents works by artists who exhibited at Takemiya Gallery, drawn from the The Collection of Shuzo Takiguchi. It also features a special presentation of the newly acquired 2024 poetry and picture book 《Fairy’s Distance》, a collaboration between Shuzo Takiguchi and Nobuya [Yoshifumi] Abe.