Ray Yoshida
Encyclopedia
Raymond "Ray" Kakuo Yoshida (October 3, 1930 – January 10, 2009) was a Chicago
artist
known for his paintings and collages, and a teacher at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 1959 to 2005. He was an important mentor of the Chicago Imagists
, a group in the 1960s and 1970s who specialized in distorted, emotional representational art.
Yoshida was born in Hawaii
and returned there after 2005 when his health began to fail. He studied at the University of Hawaii
, but was drafted into the army during the Korean War. He resumed his studies in Chicago, where a sister was a nurse, and received degrees from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Syracuse University
.
His paintings are strongly influenced by comics
and his personal collection of folk art
and found art
. His collages are strongly graphic, placing "tiny, oddly shaped details of architecture, fabric, hairdos and other unidentifiable elements" in ordered rows of fragments and tiers . Critic Ken Johnson
called his collages "formally captivating, dreamily strange and comically absurd." Both he and his work are referred to as enigmatic, mysterious, and witty.
Yoshida's work was exhibited along with the Imagists
at the Museum of Contemporary Art
in Chicago in 1969. From 1971 through the 1990s, his work was shown in the Phyllis Kind Gallery in Chicago and New York City
. A retrospective of his art was exhibited in 1998 at The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu
, the Chicago Cultural Center
, and the Madison Art Center
in Madison, Wisconsin
. His last solo exhibition was in 1999 at the Adam Baumgold Gallery in New York.
Ray Yoshida's works can be found in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago
, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
and the National Museum of American Art in Washington.
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
known for his paintings and collages, and a teacher at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 1959 to 2005. He was an important mentor of the Chicago Imagists
Chicago Imagists
The Chicago Imagists is the name of a group of representational artists associated with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago who exhibited at the Hyde Park Art Center in the late 1960s. Their work was known for grotesquerie, surrealism and complete uninvolvement with New York art world trends...
, a group in the 1960s and 1970s who specialized in distorted, emotional representational art.
Yoshida was born in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
and returned there after 2005 when his health began to fail. He studied at the University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
, but was drafted into the army during the Korean War. He resumed his studies in Chicago, where a sister was a nurse, and received degrees from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
.
His paintings are strongly influenced by comics
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
and his personal collection of folk art
Folk art
Folk art encompasses art produced from an indigenous culture or by peasants or other laboring tradespeople. In contrast to fine art, folk art is primarily utilitarian and decorative rather than purely aesthetic....
and found art
Found art
The term found art—more commonly found object or readymade—describes art created from undisguised, but often modified, objects that are not normally considered art, often because they already have a non-art function...
. His collages are strongly graphic, placing "tiny, oddly shaped details of architecture, fabric, hairdos and other unidentifiable elements" in ordered rows of fragments and tiers . Critic Ken Johnson
Ken Johnson
-Sports personalities:*Ken Johnson , defensive end for the Cincinnati Bengals, played 1970–1977*Ken Johnson , defensive end for the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs...
called his collages "formally captivating, dreamily strange and comically absurd." Both he and his work are referred to as enigmatic, mysterious, and witty.
Yoshida's work was exhibited along with the Imagists
Chicago Imagists
The Chicago Imagists is the name of a group of representational artists associated with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago who exhibited at the Hyde Park Art Center in the late 1960s. Their work was known for grotesquerie, surrealism and complete uninvolvement with New York art world trends...
at the Museum of Contemporary Art
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is a contemporary art museum near Water Tower Place in downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The museum, which was established in 1967, is one of the world's largest contemporary art venues...
in Chicago in 1969. From 1971 through the 1990s, his work was shown in the Phyllis Kind Gallery in Chicago and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. A retrospective of his art was exhibited in 1998 at The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu
The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu
The now defunct Contemporary Museum, Honolulu was the only museum in the state of Hawaii devoted exclusively to contemporary art. The Contemporary Museum had two venues: in residential Honolulu at the historic Spalding House, and downtown Honolulu at First Hawaiian Center.-Collection:Artists...
, the Chicago Cultural Center
Chicago Cultural Center
The Chicago Cultural Center, opened in 1897, is a Chicago Landmark building that houses the city's official reception venue where the Mayor of Chicago has welcomed Presidents and royalty, diplomats and community leaders. It is located in the Loop, across Michigan Avenue from Millennium Park...
, and the Madison Art Center
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art
The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art — MMoCA, formerly known as the Madison Art Center, is an art museum located in Madison, Wisconsin. A three-story glass facade "icon" on the corner of State and Henry Streets serves as the museum's main staircase, as well as its architectural...
in Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
. His last solo exhibition was in 1999 at the Adam Baumgold Gallery in New York.
Ray Yoshida's works can be found in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is a contemporary art museum near Water Tower Place in downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The museum, which was established in 1967, is one of the world's largest contemporary art venues...
and the National Museum of American Art in Washington.