18 Facts About Yusuke Nakahara

Yusuke Nakahara was a Japanese art critic, curator, scholar, lecturer, university president, art festival organizer, and cultural administrator.

Yusuke Nakahara is perhaps best known as the figure who spearheaded the influential 1970 Tokyo Biennale, Between Man and Matter at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum.

Yusuke Nakahara's writings have appeared in journals such as Bijutsu Techo, Mizue, and Geijutsu Shincho.

Yusuke Nakahara was born on August 22,1931, in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan.

In 1955, Yusuke Nakahara penned his first piece of art criticism that coincided with his research on theoretical physics, "Criticism for creation".

Contextually, Yusuke Nakahara's research occurred during an increasing interest in Japanese academia and politics to invest more money and resources into the study of atomic energy and nuclear reactor technology.

Colleagues of Yusuke Nakahara commented in recent years that this text likey demarcated the reasons for why Yusuke Nakahara shifted his career from the Sciences to the Arts.

Yusuke Nakahara's sudden acceptance into art criticism was a major turning point as Bijutsu Hihyo was a subsidiary of the arts publishing house Bijutsu Shuppansha, which distributed the equally influential Bijutsu Techo and Mizue.

Subsequently, Yusuke Nakahara began to curate exhibitions of Japanese and international artists.

Yusuke Nakahara placed emphasis on creatives who worked along the periphery of the Japanese art world and were affiliated with avant-garde movements and styles.

In 1968, Yusuke Nakahara partnered with fellow art critic Junzo Ishiko in the curation of the group exhibition Tricks and Visions, which featured 19 artists between two galleries.

Yusuke Nakahara described the concept behind the exhibition as an exploration of how "man and matter [are joined] together inseparably with mutual influences and control".

Since it was held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Yusuke Nakahara deemed it imperative for the museum itself to be an integral component in the display of the artworks.

Yusuke Nakahara grew enamored with the indigenous movement Dansaekhwa, which is a form of monochromatic painting that sought to strip Korean art of any references to Western and Japanese painterly influences.

Yusuke Nakahara briefly served an administrative role as the President of Kyoto Seika University from 1979 - 1981.

From 1982 to 1995, Yusuke Nakahara directed the curation of multiple exhibitions at the Ginza-based LIXIL Gallery whose prominent reputation is grounded in the display of innovative art and architectural designs that blend Japanese craftsmanship with contemporary home aesthetics.

Immediately after his tenure ended, Yusuke Nakahara was appointed as an Emeritus Director.

Yusuke Nakahara died on March 3,2011, at 79 from complications related to gallbladder cancer.