Toshimitsu Imai Biography
Toshimitsu Imai was a Japanese painter born in Kyoto in 1928. After completing his schooling in 1948, he enrolled at the Tokyo State Art Academy. His early painting style was reminiscent of that of the Fauves. In 1951 he received the Kansai-Shinseisaku Award and the following year he won the award for best new artist at the 15th Shinseisaku Salon. After his first solo exhibition in Japan, in 1952, Imai moved to Paris. In 1953 and 1954 he exhibited his paintings at the Salon de l'Art Sacré. Under the influence of the critic Michel Tapié, Imai abandoned figurative art for abstraction in March 1955, and joined the Informal movement. He was instrumental in introducing European abstract art to his native country, as evidenced by the International Art Actuel Exhibition organized by him in Tokyo in 1956, which sparked the “informal storm” in Japan. Since 1956, Imai's paintings have been sold by Leo Castelli in New York and, since 1957, also by Galerie Stadler in Paris. His success at the 1953 São Paulo Biennale and the 1960 Venice Biennale brought him international success and then recognition at home. In 1962, he received a prize at the 5th Tokyo Contemporary Japanese Art Exhibition, and the Tokyo Museum of Modern Art acquired many of his works. In 1982, Imai returned to Paris and his works were exhibited for two years at the Center Georges Pompidou. During his lifetime, he received many awards and recognitions in France and elsewhere. In 1991 he was made an honorary citizen of Madrid, in 1992 of Lyon, in 1996 he was made a knight of the Legion of Honor and in 1997 he became an officer of the Order of Arts and Letters.
