Jiro Yoshihara

Life & Legacy

Jirō Yoshihara (吉原 治良, Yoshihara Jirō; January 1, 1905 – February 10, 1972) was a Japanese painter, art educator, curator, and businessman.
Mainly known for his gestural abstract impasto paintings from the 1950s and Zen-painting inspired hard-edge Circles beginning in the 1960s, Yoshihara's oeuvre also encompasses drawings, murals, sculptures, calligraphy, ink wash paintings, ceramics, watercolors, and stage design.
Yoshihara was a key figure of postwar Japanese art and culture through his work as painter, art educator, promoter of the arts, and networker between the arts, commerce, and industry in the Kansai region and beyond, and, especially, as the leader of the postwar avant-garde art collective Gutai Art Association, which he co-founded in 1954. Under Yoshihara's guidance, Gutai explored radically experimental approaches, including outdoor exhibitions, performances, onstage presentations, and interactive works. Fueled by Yoshihara's global ambitions, Gutai developed artistic strategies to communicate internationally and insert themselves into a globalizing art world.
Aside from his artistic activities, Yoshihara was involved in the management and direction of his family's cooking oil business Yoshihara Oil Mill, Ltd.