Transient natural
experience is the true
subject of Tadashi
Asoma: changing seasons,
shimmering reflections
in a pond as the
afternoon fades, a
sudden shower or cascade
of falling leaves.
Luminous yet subtle
landscape paintings and
graphics reveal the
fusion of three cultural
influences, reflecting
places Asoma has lived
and worked.
Born in Japan, Asoma
was awarded a Japanese
Government scholarship
to study in Paris in
1956, four years after
his first exhibition in
Tokyo. The
Impressionists' romance
with color and
Post-Impressionists use
of pattern, design and
graphic abstraction
profoundly influenced
the artist, whose
palette is distinctly
Impressionistic. Three
years later during a
visit to the U.S., Asoma
became intrigued with
both the abstract and
graphic quality of
American contemporary
art and decided to
settle in the U.S.
permanently with his
family.
Although the French
and American influences
are evident in his work,
Asoma's style is rooted
in his Japanese heritage
with the asymmetry,
partial abstraction and
cropped perspective of a
larger landscape
recalling the Ukiyo-e
woodblock printmakers.
Drawing on his
considerable aesthetic
sensibilities, Asoma
masterfully renders the
ephemerality of nature,
accenting the earth's
fragile balance.
Well known to
collectors of
contemporary art, Asoma
has had 23 one-person
exhibits at the David
Findlay Galleries in New
York (the first in
1965), extensive
exhibits in the U.S.,
Europe and Japan and is
included in prominent
corporate collections
including American
Express, Atlantic
Richfield, IBM, The
Marriott Corporation and
Toshiba America.
