Morita Shiryū


Morita Shiryū was a postwar Japanese artist who revolutionized Japanese calligraphy into a global avant-garde aesthetic.
He was born in Toyooka, Hyōgo, Japan with the name Morita Kiyoshi. About 1925, he adopted the art name Morita Shiryū. "Shiryū" translates a "dragon child". Around 1937, he moved to Tokyo to study calligraphy under Ueda Sōkyū. In 1943, he returned home, and five years later, he moved to Kyoto City to immerse himself in its art community.
He was a founding member of the Bokujinkai, an association of calligraphy artists who envisioned to bring the art of calligraphy to the position of international prominence. He edited the monthly journal Bokubi from 1951 to 1981. While at the Bokujinkai, Morita launched artistic and intellectual exchange with many prominent international abstract artists including Franz Kline, Pierre Soulages, Pierre Alechinsky, and Walasse Ting.
Ryu chi Ryu from 1964 is an example of Morita's large scale calligraphic paintings that incorporate unusual materials, and are devoid of textural meaning.

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