TOKYO GALLERY + BTAP

NANKOKU HIDAI

Tokyo Gallery + BTAP is pleased to present an exhibition focused on the work of Japanese avant-garde calligrapher Nankoku Hidai during the 1950s and ’60s, tracing the impact he had not only on the world of calligraphy but also postwar Japanese art in general. Born in 1912 in Kamakura to parents who were both calligraphers, Hidai easily absorbed the principles of classical calligraphy as a young man before turning his back on its literary nature, advocating instead for what he called the “spirit line,” a more abstract and figurative idiom that some have called “unreadable.” Hidai also defied convention in his choice of materials: For his support he used canvas, board, and fiber board instead of paper, and he worked in oil and lacquer instead of ink, among other innovations. While Hidai’s work is in the collections of museums like the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, his influence on the global art scene remains underappreciated. He lectured widely on calligraphy, held solo exhibitions in major cities in the United States starting in the 1960s, and collaborated with K.R.H. Sonderborg, Pierre Alechinsky, and Walasse Ting in New York in 1964.