Chizuko Yoshida was a Japanese artist. She was a modernist, whose work reflected the development of art in Japan following World War II. She is noted for providing a connective link between widespread modern art movements and traditional Japanese imagery. She was also important as the middle link in the succession of three generations of women artists in the widely recognized Yoshida family. She was the wife of artist Hodaka Yoshida. Hodaka's mother, Fujio Yoshida, was a noted artist alongside of her husband Hiroshi Yoshida. Chizuko's daughter, Ayomi Yoshida, is well known for her modernist woodblock prints and room-size woodblock-chip installations. Three generations of women artists in one family is a rare phenomenon in Japanese art history.
Early life and education
Despite marrying into the Yoshida family of artists, neither of Chizuko-san's parents were artists. Her first creative experiences involved dancing in the Nichigeki Dance Team as a middle school student. Six months of this endeavor left Chizuko ill and subsequently had to stop performing, though later in her career she would use dance-related themes in her visual work. Chizuko then studied art at the Sato Girl's High School in Tokyo. Following graduation, she began studying under Fumio Kitaoka. In 1941 she studied design at HongoArt Institute, then in 1949 joined the art seminar Century Society hosted by Okamoto Tarō, a leading avant-garde artist and critic. It was during the seminar that Chizuko became aware of the connections between modernist art and traditional Japanese art, and began to adopt forms of abstraction in her work. A year later Chizuko became a member of two important art associations: the Pacific Painting Society, established earlier by Hiroshi Yoshida and his friends, and Shuyōkai, established by Fujio Yoshida and her artist associates. Chizuko won a prize for her entry in a Shuyōkai exhibition. Chizuko and her work would also catch the eye of Hodaka Yoshida. They attended Onchi Kōshirō’s art seminar together, held an exhibition of their oils and woodblock prints, and in June 1953 were married. They were to have two children, Ayomi and Takasuke. Following her marriage to Hodaka, Chizuko-san stopped painting in favor of woodblock printing.
Career
In the late 1950s, Chizuko-san began to travel around the world with Hodaka and Fujio. These trips would provide inspiration for her woodblock prints, incorporating colors and forms seen abroad into her work. Chizuko then began to work in a larger scale, in the early 1960s. These prints contained massive architectural forms and incorporated Japanese calligraphic elements. Around this time, she also started to experiment with embossing the prints, which added visual depth to the works. 1969 saw Chizuko-san win a prize at the International Print Triennial for her piece, Star, Star, Star A. The use of embossing would carry into Chizuko's work in the 1970s and was used to create pseudo-optical illusions within the prints. While flying to Australia, Chizuko and Hodaka often traveled together to destinations around the world, and occasionally held joint exhibitions. In the early 1970s, Hodaka began incorporating zinc plates, allowing for the use of more photographic images in his work. Chizuko would follow suit, gathering images from magazines and layering them with her woodblock prints. This method was used to create Chizuko-san's Reef series, based on her experience of seeing the Great Barrier Reef from an airplane while flying to Australia.
Work
Her woodblock prints range from geometric abstraction to music to phenomena in nature to beautiful gestures composed of butterflies or flowers. Underlying her compositions is an inner strength, the recollection of an indelible moment. A refined Japanese aesthetic prevails within her use of various modern international styles. Chizuko became member of the Japanese Print Association in 1954; she also helped establish the Women's Printmakers Association in 1954. She exhibited in the College Women's Association of Japan since its beginning in 1956 and in the annual Contemporary Women's Exhibition in Ueno Museum since 1987. She was invited to exhibit in many international art and print biennials.
