Special Exhibition — KAZUO OKAZAKI (1930–2022)

This edition of The Collection of Shuzo Takiguchi showcases the works of Kazuo Okazaki, an artist renowned for his distinctive art objects inspired by everyday items.
Born in Okayama City in 1930, Okazaki studied art history at Waseda University. With a deep interest in poetry and art criticism, he encountered Shuzo Takiguchi’s Modern Art(1938), through which he developed a strong fascination with Dada and Surrealism—particularly art objects created by Marcel Duchamp.
Beginning his artistic career in the 1950s, Okazaki began producing objects made from polyester resin and aluminum in the early 1960s. Around 1963, he launched his《Gyobutsu Hoi (Object Supplement)》series, in which he cast and inverted the interior spaces and surfaces of familiar objects such as hoses, light bulbs, clocks, and dolls. As suggested by the title—meaning “supplementing sacred objects”—the series was rooted in the artist’s idea of “creating objects that complement, from an Eastern perspective, ways of seeing that had previously been overlooked in the West.” Throughout his life, Okazaki continued to pursue this singular philosophy through his artistic practice.
Okazaki’s close relationship with the deeply admired Shuzo Takiguchi began in late 1964. The following year, he started work on 《Shuzo Takiguchi―Arrow Finger (from who's who)》 based on a cast of Takiguchi’s right index finger. In 1966, thanks to an introduction made by Takiguchi, Okazaki held his first solo exhibition at Tokyo Gallery. In 1967, he established the workshop OKAZAKI GIVEAWAY for the production of multiples, and in 1968 completed 《Shuzo Takiguchi―Arrow Finger (from who's who)》, the first work in the Who’s Who series. That same year, he joined forces with Mitsuo Kano to assist in the production of Jasper Johns’s relief print 《Summer Critic》, included in Quotations from Marcel Duchamp, edited by Takiguchi. In 1977, Okazaki and Takiguchi completed their collaborative work 《Oculist Witnesses》 after Marcel Duchamp, regarded as an homage to Duchamp. Their close artistic exchange—through conceptual discussions and collaborative production—continued uninterrupted until Takiguchi’s death in 1979.
This exhibition presents works from the Takiguchi Collection that illuminate the artistic relationship between Okazaki and Takiguchi. It also includes a special presentation of newly acquired works donated during fiscal 2025.