TOMIE OHTAKE . (Japanese/Brazilian, b. 1913). Botão, 1976. Oil on canvas. 39-1/2 x 39-1/2 inches (100.3 x 100.3 cm). Sig...

Description

TOMIE OHTAKE
(Japanese/Brazilian, b. 1913)
Botão, 1976
Oil on canvas
39-1/2 x 39-1/2 inches (100.3 x 100.3 cm)
Signed and dated lower right: Tomie 76
Signed verso: Tomie Ohtake / São Paulo

EXHIBITED:
São Paulo Bienal, 1976.

Born in Kyoto in 1913, Tomie Ohtake immigrated to Brazil in the mid 1930s. A member of the Seibi group (Japanese Artists' Association of São Paulo), she is known for her non-representational paintings and color-saturated canvases. Ohtake has held individual shows at the Museum of Modern Art in São Paulo, the University of Puerto Rico, the Pan-American Union, and the OAS Headquarters in Washington, D.C. She has received awards from the Seibi Salon of Plastic Arts in São Paulo, the National Salon of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, the Museum of Modern Art in São Paulo, and the Brazilian Contemporary Art Show in Rio de Janeiro. Ohtake's painting Botão featured here was exhibited at the 1976 São Paulo Biennial before being acquired for the McKaughan collection.

Ohtake's intuitive style is characterized by her simplicity of form. Her paintings are not cluttered, but rather they distill the composition down to its basic elements. Objects and space merge seamlessly through Ohtake's use of modeling and softened edges. Her signature large planes of color transition fluidly into one another creating an overall sense of balance. Despite the boldness of Ohtake's canvases, they cultivate a sense of harmony and calmness. As in Botão, her paintings seem to function almost as a meditative focus for the viewer and are known throughout Latin America for this elusive quality.




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