Aiko Miyawaki

In 1953, Aiko Miyawaki (1929, Tokyo – 2014, Yokohama) began studying with Nobuya Abe at Bunka Gakuin. In 1957, wanting to know more about the art world overseas, Miyawaki traveled to the U.S. to study painting at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Santa Monica City College. In the summer of 1959, she visited Vienna to participate in the World Artists Conference. Takiguchi Shūzō, who was a member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA), saw a direction in Miyawaki’s work and suggested that she spend time in Milan. There, Miyawaki befriended Lucio Fontana, Enrico Castellani, and Piero Manzoni, among others. In January 1962, Miyawaki temporarily returned to Japan and held her second solo exhibition in Japan at Tokyo Gallery. Her paintings caught the attention of a French art dealer, André Schoeller, who was visiting Japan. As a result, Miyawaki went to and stayed in Paris for a year to produce works and hold exhibitions with Schoeller. During this time, Miyawaki became close with Man Ray. In 1963, she went to New York and stayed until 1966. She engaged with Leo Castelli, Jasper Johns, and many others figures of the New York art scene. In October of 1966, she exhibited her work at the Guggenheim Museum’s “International Sculpture Exhibition” and her work, consisting of brass square tubes, received the museum’s purchase award. The same year, she returned to Japan and while she continued to exhibit across the world, she would be based in her home country for the rest of her life.