The picture book Inokuma-san, by poet TANIKAWA Shuntaro, begins with the line “Inokuma-san,who from childhood loved drawing pictures, has drawn many that are charming.” “Inokuma-san” is artist INOKUMA Genichiro (1902-1993), and TANIKAWA’s book introduces his work.

INOKUMA Genichiro (1902-93) was born in Kagawa prefecture, and studied under FUJISHIMA Takeji at the Imperial School of Art in Tokyo. He formed the Shinseisaku-ha Kyokai (Shinseisaku Art Society) in 1936. He was a prolific artist, relocating several times and producing works in Tokyo, Paris, New York, and Hawaii. The joy of painting and the joy of creativity are revealed I the artist’s colour and form, and in his depictions of people’s faces, animals, and of the objects that he collected in his everyday life. These characteristics are showcased in this exhibition in a format that follows TANIKAWA’s text.

The exhibition was first held in 2007 at the Marugame Genichiro-Inokuma Museum of Contemporary Art (MIMOCA). The Tokyo exhibition features around 100 works by INOKUMA from that MIMOCA’s collection.