Amano Kunihiro

Amano Kunihiro 天野邦弘 (1929-2020)

BIOGRAPHY

Amano was born on July 10, 1929 in Hirosaki in Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan. At an early age his family moved to Tokyo, where his father "made a living selling souvenir prints of Mount Fuji and other iconic Japanese scenes."[1] During the war he was evacuated back to Aomori, attending Aomori Prefectural Technical School, graduating in 1947. Returning to Tokyo after the war, he spent three years attending classes at various art institutions including Musashino Art University. 

In discussing his post-war experiences, Amano in his 2016 interview with journalist Tim Hornyak, relates, “Back then, artists worked just to earn a living. The situation was very severe. My memories are mainly about my struggle to survive.”[2]

Although many sources describe Amano as a "self-taught" woodprint artist, Hornyak reports that "he had studied woodblock printmaking at elementary school, as well as at the art academies."[3] Writing in 1973, Petit notes Amano's "long enjoyed deep friendship" with sōsaku hanga artist Azechi Umetarō 畦地梅太郎 (1902-1999) and the "spiritual guidance of print artists."[4]

First exhibiting with the Japanese Print Association (Nihon Hanga Kyōkai) in 1951[5], he went on to a long and active international career. Lawrence Smith, in his brief biography of the artist, notes: "He is typical of the first post-war generation of 'Sosaku Hanga' artists in his emphasis on clarity of form and printing, and has achieved a consistent elegance through a very individual palette of oil pigments which he developed during the 1960s."[6] 

His early work is noted for his incorporation of woodgrain and several critics mention his sexual imagery. "Over the years, his style has ranged from figurative to surrealist to abstract, with depictions of birds and fish giving way to colorful, geometric patterns, often orbiting concentric circles."[7] While often identified as part of the sōsaku hanga movement, Amano, according to Hornyak "doesn’t identify with any particular art movement or inspirational artist" and goes on to quote Amano on his work's trajectory, “Earlier on, I did more figurative work, but there were always artists who are better at that kind of thing. I found it easier to express myself with abstract art.”[8] 

An innovative artist with an evolving style, in discussing his work in 1999 Amano states "Going forward, determining the direction it can take involves continuing with thought and experimentation."[9]