Discover Tadashi Asoma’s Masterful Paintings at Findlay Galleries in New York

Characterized by a dynamic fusion of Eastern and Western artistic sensibilities, the Japanese-American artist’s dazzling exhibition is not to be missed

February 1, 2024

White Kimono. Photo: Courtesy of Findlay Galleries

With their stunning interplay of form and color, Tadashi Asoma‘s paintings reveal a deeply emotive and spiritual dimension. The full breadth of the late Japanese-American artist’s impressive work is now on view at Findlay Galleries on East 57^th Street in New York. There, visitors will find a wide range of work from his career, gaining insight into his unique creative mind. Asoma—born in pre-war Japan in 1923 and educated at Saitama Teachers College, Urawa Ward, and the Bijutsu Gakko, Tokyo—had his first solo exhibition in 1952.

Four years later, he was awarded a scholarship to study at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris, after which he would move to the United States to further his studies at the Art Students League in New York. He called America home for the next four decades, before returning to Japan where he passed away in 2017.

A work by Tadashi Asoma. Photo: Courtesy of Findlay Galleries

Some of the most beautiful examples of his work were created later in life in the Hudson River Valley, his home since 1972. Deeply inspired by his environs, Asoma painted many of the brilliant landscapes that he is now known for. Recognized as a master colorist, Asoma filled his canvasses with bold brushstrokes and vivid hues, capturing the poetic beauty of nature. His Eastern roots, meanwhile, were the focus of his early and mid-career works, incorporating Japanese women in interior settings rendered with flattened planes and fractured compositions.

Glory of Autumn. Photo: Courtesy of Findlay Galleries

Boston based designer Nina Farmer is particularly drawn Asoma’s use of color and balanced compositions. “Although my connection with the Findlay Gallery goes back decades, as it was a favorite of my grandparents. Thanks to the gallery, I recently discovered Tadashi Asoma there and was intrigued by his masterful use of color. I was particularly drawn to the harmonious balance of the lake and mountains in his piece entitled Lake Tiorati,” Farmer said of the exhibition.

Tadashi Asoma’s work can be found in prestigious private collections and museums worldwide, including the Nelson Atkins Museum, the San Diego Museum of Art, and the Tokyo Central Museum in Japan.

See more images of the paintings below.