Overview
| Early Childhood (1920–1926 | Ages 0–6) Born in the village of Oku-Ono on the Tango Peninsula, in northern Kyoto Prefecture. He lost his biological father at the age of one and was subsequently raised by his stepfather, a charcoal burner in the mountains. |
| Elementary School Years (1927–1931 | Ages 7–11) Struggling with poverty due to family circumstances, he changed schools six times. During his third and fourth years, he was placed at a Buddhist temple, where he was subjected to strict discipline. |
| Apprenticeship and Self-Study (1932–1937 | Ages 12–17) Through his apprenticeship in arai-hari (traditional fabric cleaning), he acquired the sewing skills that became the foundation for his later “NUI (stitch work)” series. Alongside his manual labor, he devoted himself to self-study in illustration and copying. |
| Years of Drift (1938–1940 | Ages 18–20) Aspiring to become a painter, he ran away from home. While leading a nomadic life working as a dock laborer, he became immersed in gambling and nearly lost sight of his artistic ambitions. |
| War and Figurative Period (1941–1951 | Ages 21–31) Following military service and demobilization, he returned to his creative path. After his work Evening View of Maizuru Harbor was accepted into the Niki-kai Exhibition, he moved to Kobe to fully dedicate himself to life as a painter. While working as a crane operator at Kawasaki Dockyard, he married and devoted the hours before and after his shifts to painting. |
| Non-figurative and Gutai Period (1952–1972 | Ages 32–52) Studying under Jiro Yoshihara, he turned to non-figurative art. In 1954, he participated in the founding of the Gutai Art Association (hereafter “Gutai”) and remained active until its dissolution in 1972. During this period, he regularly exhibited in the Modern Art Exhibition, became a member in 1962, and withdrew in 1971. Through these parallel activities, he developed his own distinctive non-figurative expression. |
| Beginning of “NUI (Stitch Work)” and Participation in AU and Ge Exhibitions (1973–1979 | Ages 53–59) In 1975, he set aside his brushes and paints for needles and thread, marking the beginning of his “NUI (stitch work)” series. This practice remained the core of his creative output for the next two decades as he developed an extensive body of work. Following the dissolution of Gutai, he expanded his reach by participating in the Artist Union (AU, 1975–1983) and the Ge exhibitions (1976–2002). |
| Full Devotion to Artistic Practice Following Retirement (1980–1991 | Ages 60–71) Retiring in 1980 allowed him to focus exclusively on his art. He produced a vast body of sumi-ink works, which served as the foundation for his foray into printmaking. During this period, he underwent surgery for a subarachnoid hemorrhage at age 65, and for a cataract in his left eye at age 68. |
| Changes in Pictorial Composition and Late Years (1992–2018 | Ages 72–97) His methods became increasingly diverse, marking a shift from a practice centered on the materiality of accumulated handwork to pictorial compositions that emphasized the arrangement of color and form. Thereafter, he vigorously produced works based on the repetition of the □ (square) motif. He underwent cataract surgery at 73 and received a cardiac pacemaker at 76. Despite these physical challenges, his creative drive remained undiminished, and he continued his pursuit of non-figurative expression well into his nineties. In 2018, he passed away of old age at 97. |
Chronology
Early Childhood (1920–1926 | Ages 0–6)
Born in the village of Oku-Ono on the Tango Peninsula, in northern Kyoto Prefecture. He lost his biological father at the age of one and was subsequently raised by his stepfather, a charcoal burner in the mountains.
| 1920 Age 0 | Born on July 31 in Oku-Ohno Village, Naka District, Kyoto Prefecture, as the third son of Yoshizō Uemae and Rin Nagahama. His two older brothers had died shortly after birth. |
| 1921 Age 1 | His father, Yoshizō, passed away. His mother, Rin, took on responsibility for repaying a 200-yen debt incurred during the construction of their home while raising Chiyu, and worked as a traveling peddler. She later entered into a common-law relationship with Seitarō Uemae, who ran a charcoal-burning business in the mountains. He spent his early childhood surrounded by the natural environment of the mountains and fields. |
| 1924 Age 4 | An ear illness caused lifelong hearing loss. |
| 1926 Age 6 | His mother, Rin, fell ill and turned to a life of religious devotion. Thereafter, he lived in hardship and poverty together with his ailing mother. |
Elementary School Years (1927–1931 | Ages 7–11)
Struggling with poverty due to family circumstances, he changed schools six times. During his third and fourth years, he was placed at a Buddhist temple, where he was subjected to strict discipline.
| 1927 Age 7 | He narrowly escaped being crushed by a collapsed house during the Great Northern Tango Earthquake, saved by a 90-year-old spiritual medium. His adoptive father, Seitaro, died in the disaster. His mother later remarried Hori, a carpenter with children of his own. |
| 1929 Age 9 | Due to his mother Rin’s illness, she and Chiyu were taken in by her family in Ine Village. Encouraged by an ascetic mountain practitioner, Ichizo Tani, Rin set out on a pilgrimage to Shikoku, but her family opposed the decision and distanced themselves from them. Chiyu was then entrusted to Sonin Tani, the abbot of Busshinji Temple in Wae Village, Kasa District, and transferred to Nakayama Elementary School. From that point on, he lived under the monk’s strict discipline. |
| 1931 Age 11 | In the fifth grade, he moved to Higashi-Yoshihara in Maizuru with his mother Rin and Ichizo Tani after their return from Shikoku, and transferred to Yoshihara Elementary School. Their life was extremely poor. After parting ways with Tani, mother and son lived for a time in Agu-bayashi. However, when Rin’s illness recurred, they moved in with Miyazo Sunahara in Kitatanabe. The Sunahara household was also impoverished. Chiyu—then a growing boy—was sometimes reproached for his appetite, leaving him to eat self-consciously and with restraint. |
Apprenticeship and Self-Study (1932–1937 | Ages 12–17)
Through his apprenticeship in arai-hari (traditional fabric cleaning), he acquired the sewing skills that became the foundation for his later “NUI (stitch work)” series. Alongside his manual labor, he devoted himself to self-study in illustration and copying.
| 1932 Age 12 | About one month before graduating from elementary school, he was sent to apprentice at Nakamura Kyozome Araihari Shikkai-ten, a dyeing and fabric-cleaning workshop in Maizuru. There he engaged in sewing work and earned recognition for completing nami-nui (running stitch) faster than anyone else. This experience later became the foundation of his “NUI” works. About a year after beginning his apprenticeship, he developed a severe case of beriberi and spent roughly six months recuperating. |
| 1934 Age 14 | After recovering from beriberi, he moved between several apprenticeships at dyeing and fabric-cleaning workshops. Around this time, he became absorbed in copying illustrations and drawing portraits, sketching almost every night. |
| 1937 Age 17 | After finding a newspaper advertisement for instruction in nanga (Southern-style painting), he enrolled in a correspondence course. He obtained lecture materials by Suiun Komuro and began studying nanga. |
Years of Drift (1938–1940 | Ages 18–20)
Aspiring to become a painter, he ran away from home. While leading a nomadic life working as a dock laborer, he became immersed in gambling and nearly lost sight of his artistic ambitions.
| 1938 Age 18 | Against his mother’s wishes, he ran away from home to pursue a career as a painter. He traveled from Maizuru to Kobe and, through an acquaintance, found live-in work at Hakusei-sha laundry and dyeing shop in Biwa-cho, Nada Ward. In July of the same year, he experienced the Great Kobe Flood firsthand and witnessed its devastation. In the autumn, he moved to the Hamada laundry shop, newly established after its founder left Hakusei-sha. |
| 1939 Age 19 | Through the introduction of a senior colleague with whom he had consulted about wages, he joined the Tsuri-gumi dockworkers’ group. He engaged in well-paid dock labor but found himself in a harsh environment where drinking and gambling were commonplace. He later moved to Yokohama, joining the Sugawa-gumi dockworkers’ group. During this time, he briefly studied portrait painting under Yoshitaka Mabori and received the art name “Kyoko”. However, he gradually lost sight of his goals, becoming increasingly drawn into gambling amid heavy labor, and his life grew unsettled. Around this time, he also gained experience operating winches through his work as a dockworker. |
| 1940 Age 20 | In January, he accepted a friend’s invitation and took shelter at a subcontractor’s residence of Azuma Steel Works in Tsukishima, Tokyo. However, betrayed by the friend, he was robbed of his belongings and returned to Yokohama with nothing. Facing hardship, he sought financial support from his mother and returned to Maizuru for his military physical examination. He later worked at the Maizuru Naval Accounting Department, binding documents for financial reports. Alongside this, he pursued art studies through correspondence courses with Chuo Bijutsu and by reading art magazines such as Shin Bijutsu. |
War and Figurative Period (1941–1951 | Ages 21–31)
Following military service and demobilization, he returned to his creative path. After his work Evening View of Maizuru Harbor was accepted into the Niki-kai Exhibition, he moved to Kobe to fully dedicate himself to life as a painter. While working as a crane operator at Kawasaki Dockyard, he married and devoted the hours before and after his shifts to painting.
| 1941 Age 21 | On December 8, the Pacific War began. |
| 1942 Age 22 | After reading Shohachi Kimura’s Bijutsu Koza (Art Lectures), he turned to Western-style oil painting and co-founded Kakubikai, a Maizuru-based painting circle. |
| 1944 Age 24 | On June 1, he was drafted for educational mobilization and assigned to the Machine Gun Company of the Chubu 37th Unit. In August, he departed from Yokohama Port and landed on Hachijo-jima Island. In December, he was promoted to Private First Class. |
| 1945 Age 25 | While stationed on Hachijo-jima, he witnessed the end of the war on August 15. He was demobilized in November and returned to Maizuru, where he began working as a portrait painter to earn a living while continuing to develop his skills in oil painting. |
| 1946 Age 26 | He joined the Nippon Express Umimaizuru Branch, where he worked packaging salt. After work, he devoted himself to painting, sketching scenes of Maizuru Port. Works from this period led to his acceptance into the Niki-kai Exhibition the following year. |
| 1947 Age 27 | Exhibition (hereafter: [Exh.]): Evening View of Maizuru Harbor was exhibited at the 1st Niki-kai Exhibition and received his first acceptance; it was featured in the local edition of the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper. In his diary that year, he wrote: “I must work in order to eat. Yet my life is sustained by painting.” At a reception for the Niki-kai Osaka Exhibition, he met Shinjiro Hasegawa, then a student at the Kansai Art Institute, which led to his receiving guidance from Jutaro Kuroda. Around this time, he encountered abstract painting at an exhibition in Kyoto, which left a strong impression on him. |
| 1948 Age 28 | In April, he obtained his crane operator’s license at Nippon Express upon the company’s request. In December, in search of new possibilities in his artistic work, he asked an acquaintance to help arrange a position at Kawasaki Dockyard and began considering a move to Kobe. |
| 1949 Age 29 | In January, he left Nippon Express and moved to Kobe, where he began working as a crane operator at Kawasaki Dockyard. He moved into the company dormitory. In October, he married Tokue Kotani, a nurse from his hometown. |
| 1950 Age 30 | In the spring, he brought his wife to Kobe and began a new life together in Miki, Hyogo Prefecture. His wife worked at Aogahara National Hospital, and the couple became dual-income earners. |
| 1951 Age 31 | On May 10, while commuting, he clung to the closing train doors and, during the ride, struck a utility pole and fell. He sustained serious injuries, including fractures to his jaw and collarbone. In June, his eldest son, Tomoaki, was born in Maizuru. [Exh.] Held his first solo exhibition of crayon drawings and sketches at Nishi-Maizuru Library. In October, he moved to the Kawasaki Heavy Industries family dormitory in Tarumi, Kobe. In November, he joined the company’s art circle, Shugen-kai. |
Non-figurative and Gutai Period (1952–1972 | Ages 32–52)
Studying under Jiro Yoshihara, he turned to non-figurative art. In 1954, he participated in the founding of the Gutai Art Association (hereafter “Gutai”) and remained active until its dissolution in 1972. During this period, he regularly exhibited in the Modern Art Exhibition, became a member in 1962, and withdrew in 1971. Through these parallel activities, he developed his own distinctive non-figurative expression.
| 1952 Age 32 | On March 28, he encountered the non-figurative works of Jiro Yoshihara at The 2nd Contemporary Artists’ Crayon Painting Exhibition held at Kobe Mitsukoshi, which left a strong impression on him. In May, he invited his mother, who had been living in Maizuru, to join him at the family dormitory in Tarumi, Kobe. [Exh.] • 1st Shugen-kai Exhibition (continued participation through the 4th exhibition) Around this time, he began producing non-figurative works in earnest. |
| 1953 Age 33 | October: Submitted to the 7th Niki Exhibition but was not accepted. October: Birth of his daughter, Chisato. November 9: First visit to the home of Jiro Yoshihara. Thereafter, he continued to receive guidance by regularly bringing his works for review. |
| 1954 Age 34 | July: Participated in the founding of the Gutai Art Association (remained a member until its dissolution in 1972). [Exh.] • 4th Modern Art Association Exhibition (continued participation through the 20th exhibition in 1970) • 2nd Genbi Exhibition (Osaka Matsuzakaya; Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art; Kobe Asahi Kaikan) |
| 1955 Age 35 | [Exh.] • 7th Japan Independent Exhibition (Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum) • 1st Gutai Art Exhibition (Ohara Hall) (continued participation until Gutai’s dissolution) |
| 1956 昭和31年 36歳 | He purchased approximately 330 square meters of forested land in Maikozaka, Tarumi Ward, Kobe. Using tools such as pickaxes and shovels, he carried out the land leveling himself, completing the site preparation over the course of about three years. [Exh.] • The 6th Modern Art Exhibition (Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum) • The 8th Yomiuri Independent Exhibition (Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum) • Chiyu Uemae Oil Painting Solo Exhibition (Art Café DON, Kobe) • The 9th Ashiya City Art Exhibition (Seido Elementary School Auditorium) • The 2nd Gutai Art Exhibition (Ohara Hall, Tokyo) |
| 1957 Age 37 | [Exh.] • Hiroi Tsutomu / Chiyu Uemae Two-Person Exhibition (Yoseido Gallery, Tokyo) • The 7th Modern Art Exhibition (Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum) – received the Newcomer Award • The 9th Yomiuri Independent Exhibition (Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum) • The 7th Kansai Comprehensive Art Exhibition (Osaka Municipal Museum of Art) – Pentel Prize (Honorable Mention) • The 10th Ashiya City Exhibition (Seido Elementary School Auditorium) – Board of Education Award • Nishinomiya City Exhibition (Yasui Elementary School Auditorium) – Honorable Mention |
| 1958 Age 38 | In May, his second son Yuji was born. The family of six lived in a single eight-tatami room. [Exh.] • New Horizons in Painting: Informel and Gutai (Takashimaya, Osaka) • The 2nd Asahi Newcomers Exhibition (Takashimaya, Osaka) • Gutai New York Exhibition (Martha Jackson Gallery, touring the United States) |
| 1959 Age 39 | Around this time, he began producing works using matchsticks. [Exh.] • The 12th Ashiya City Exhibition (Seido Elementary School Auditorium) – Holbein Prize • Gutai Torino Exhibition (7th Gutai Art Exhibition) (Galleria Arti Figurative, Italy) |
| 1960 Age 40 | His new home, built on the self-developed land in Maikozaka, Tarumi Ward, Kobe, was completed, and he moved in. [Exh.] • The 9th Gutai Art Exhibition (Takashimaya, Osaka) – presented a large-scale work using matchsticks |
| 1961 Age 41 | [Exh.] • Continuity and Avant-Garde in Japan (International Institute of Aesthetics, Turin) • The 10th Gutai Art Exhibition (Takashimaya, Osaka; later toured to Nihonbashi Takashimaya) • Gutai Small Works Exhibition (Nakanoshima Gallery / Mainichi Gallery, Osaka) |
| 1962 Age 42 | [Exh.] • The 11th Gutai Art Exhibition (Takashimaya, Osaka) • The 15th Ashiya City Art Exhibition (Seido Elementary School Auditorium) • Gutai Pinacotheca Opening Exhibition (Gutai Pinacotheca) |
| 1963 Age 43 | In February, his mother Rin passed away at the age of 79. [Exh.] • The 12th Gutai Art Exhibition (Takashimaya, Nihonbashi) • The 13th Gutai Art Exhibition (Takashimaya, Osaka) • Contemporary Painters of Kobe (Musée Cantini, Marseille) |
| 1964 Age 44 | In September, his work was featured on the cover of Asahi Journal. [Exh.] • The 14th Gutai Art Exhibition (Takashimaya, Osaka) • Trends in Contemporary Art: Painting and Sculpture (National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto Annex) • Contemporary Painters of Kobe – Homecoming Exhibition (Sogo, Kobe) • The 17th Ashiya City Art Exhibition (Ashiya Civic Center) – Mayor’s Prize |
| 1965 Age 45 | [Exh.] • Five Gutai Artists from Kobe (Daiwa Gallery, Kobe) • The 15th Gutai Art Exhibition (Gutai Pinacotheca) • The 16th Gutai Art Exhibition (Keio Department Store, Shinjuku) • Art of Today in Japan (Muramatsu Gallery, Tokyo) • Paris Gutai Exhibition (Galerie Stadler, Paris) |
| 1966 Age 46 | [Exh.] • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Gutai Pinacotheca) — Catalogue texts by Jiro Yoshihara and Shozo Shimamoto • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Nihon Gallery, Tokyo) • 2nd International Exhibition of Lausanne (Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Switzerland) |
| 1967 Age 47 | [Exh.] • The 18th Gutai Art Exhibition (Gutai Pinacotheca) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Yoseido Gallery, Tokyo) • The 19th Gutai Art Exhibition (Tokyo Central Museum of Art / Gutai Pinacotheca) • Gutai Small Works Exhibition (Gutai Pinacotheca) |
| 1968 Age 48 | [Exh.] • The 20th Gutai Art Exhibition (Gutai Pinacotheca) • The 21st Gutai Art Exhibition (Gutai Pinacotheca) • Contemporary Art Exhibition by Night Only (Miyazaki Kanko Hotel) • Gutai Small Works Exhibition (Gutai Pinacotheca) |
| 1969 Age 49 | [Exh.] • Gutai Small Works Exhibition (Gutai Pinacotheca) |
| 1970 Age 50 | In January, he retired from Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kobe Works, where he had been employed for 21 years. [Exh.] • Expo ’70 — Gutai Group Exhibition, Midori Pavilion Entrance Hall |
| 1971 Age 51 | He resigned from the Modern Art Association, of which he had been a member since 1954. For about two years, he served as an instructor in a children’s art class under Shozo Shimamoto. [Exh.] • The 3rd Hiroshima Renaissance Art Exhibition (Hiroshima Prefectural Museum of Art) |
| 1972 Age 52 | In February, Jiro Yoshihara passed away. In March, the Gutai Art Association was dissolved. [Exh.] • Exhibition in Memory of Jiro Yoshihara (Fujimi Gallery, Osaka) |
Beginning of “NUI (Stitch Work)” and Participation in AU and Ge Exhibitions (1973–1979 | Ages 53–59)
In 1975, he set aside his brushes and paints for needles and thread, marking the beginning of his “NUI (stitch work)” series. This practice remained the core of his creative output for the next two decades as he developed an extensive body of work. Following the dissolution of Gutai, he expanded his reach by participating in the Artist Union (AU, 1975–1983) and the Ge exhibitions (1976–2002).
| 1973 Age 53 | [Exh.] • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Nihon Gallery, Tokyo) • Hyogo 100 Artists Exhibition (Kobe Shimbun Cultural Center) |
| 1974 Age 54 | In June, he began working as a crane operator at the Kobe Steel plant. Exposure to the structural compositions of industrial space and the flow of materials would later influence his approach to form. |
| 1975 Age 55 | He participated in the founding of the Artist Union (AU), led by Masanobu Yoshimura (resigned in 1983). On August 21, he began creating his NUI (stitch work) series. [Exh.] • The 1st Tokyo Exhibition (Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum) |
| 1976 Age 56 | He joined the Ge exhibitions (continuing until his resignation in 2002). [Exh.] • 18 Years of Gutai Art (Osaka Prefectural Gallery) [Pub.] • Tobidashi Knife published |
| 1977 Age 57 | [Exh.] • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Shinanobashi Gallery, Osaka) • The 30th Ashiya City Art Exhibition (Ashiya Civic Center) — first presentation of a NUI (stitch work) |
| 1979 Age 59 | [Exh.] • Jiro Yoshihara and After Gutai (Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Modern Art) |
Full Devotion to Artistic Practice Following Retirement (1980–1991 | Ages 60–71)
Retiring in 1980 allowed him to focus exclusively on his art. He produced a vast body of sumi-ink works, which served as the foundation for his foray into printmaking.
During this period, he underwent surgery for a subarachnoid hemorrhage at age 65, and for a cataract in his left eye at age 68.
| 1980 Age 60 | In December, he retired from his position as a crane operator at Kobe Steel and devoted himself fully to artistic practice. [Exh.] • Art Now ’80 (Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Modern Art) |
| 1982 Age 62 | [Exh.] • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition – Oil Painting and NUI (Osaka Prefectural Contemporary Art Center) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Atelier Nishinomiya, Nishinomiya) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Suntory Foundation Gallery, Osaka) |
| 1983 Age 63 | [Exh.] • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition – Sumi-ink Painting and Printmaking (Osaka Prefectural Contemporary Art Center) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition – Thread and Cloth as Pictorial Elements (Gallery Maronie, Kyoto) • Six Artists of Contemporary Art: Gutai and AU (Itami City Museum Art Gallery) |
| 1985 Age 65 | Underwent surgery for a subarachnoid hemorrhage. [Exh.] • Yamamura Collection Study Exhibition (The National Museum of Art, Osaka) • Jiro Yoshihara and Gutai, 1954–72 (Ashiya Civic Center) • The Storm of Painting – The 1950s: Informel, Gutai, Cobra (The National Museum of Art, Osaka) • Gutai – Action and Painting (Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Spain; traveled the following year to the Museum of Contemporary Art, Yugoslavia) [Pub.] • Jigado (The Way of My Painting) published |
| 1986 Age 66 | [Exh.] • Fibers Across Time – Formative Expression in Fiber (Gallery Cuore / Fuji Gallery) • Contemporary Art: Cross-Sections of Thread and Cloth (Spiral Garden, Tokyo) • Gutai – Action and Painting: Spain & Yugoslavia Commemorative Exhibition (Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Modern Art) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Gallery Maronie, Kyoto) |
| 1987 Age 67 | [Exh.] • The 1st Needle Art Exhibition (The Museum of Modern Art, Wakayama) |
| 1988 Age 68 | Underwent cataract surgery on his left eye. [Pub.] • Contemporary Art – In My Case published |
| 1989 Age 69 | [Exh.] • The Legendary Yamamura Collection (Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Modern Art) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition – NUI Works, 1987–89 (Gallery Maronie, Kyoto) |
| 1990 Age 70 | [Exh.] • The Unfinished Avant-Garde Group (Gutai) (Shoto Museum of Art, Tokyo) • Paper Work 21 (Osaka Prefectural Contemporary Art Center) • Japanese Avant-Garde – The Gutai Group in the 1950s (Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna, Rome) • Osaka Triennale ’90 (MyDome Osaka) |
| 1991 Age 71 | [Exh.] • Soft Sculpture Exhibition (Gallery Muu / Azabu Crafts Center) • Gutai – The Japanese Avant-Garde, 1954–1965 (Mathildenhöhe, Darmstadt) • Adventurers of Painting: Gutai (Fukuoka Art Museum) • The Art of Cloth and Thread – Textile Art Exhibition (Apia Hall) A large-scale work using matchsticks was acquired by the Ashiya City Museum of Art and History upon its opening. |
Changes in Pictorial Composition and Late Years (1992–2018 | Ages 72–97)
His methods became increasingly diverse, marking a shift from a practice centered on the materiality of accumulated handwork to pictorial compositions that emphasized the arrangement of color and form. Thereafter, he vigorously produced works based on the repetition of the □ (square) motif.
He underwent cataract surgery at 73 and received a cardiac pacemaker at 76. Despite these physical challenges, his creative drive remained undiminished, and he continued his pursuit of non-figurative expression well into his nineties.
In 2018, he passed away of old age at 97.
| 1992 Age 72 | [Exh.] • Artists of the Gutai Art Association (Miyagi Museum of Art) • Chiyu Uemae Selected NUI Works (Gallery Muu / ABC Gallery) • Japanese Dada / Japanese Avant-Garde (Kunsthalle Düsseldorf) • Gutai I: 1954–1958 (Ashiya City Museum of Art and History) |
| 1993 Age 73 | In November, he underwent cataract surgery. A cardiac abnormality was discovered at that time, but he postponed further treatment due to his busy schedule. [Exh.] • Gutai II: 1959–1965 (Ashiya City Museum of Art and History) • Ashiya Art Association Members’ Exhibition (Ashiya Civic Center) • Chiyu Uemae: My Trajectory Since the 1950s (Gallery Muu, Kyoto) • Chiyu Uemae – NUI Sculpture (Gallery Yu, Saga) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Gallery Navi Do Papa, Osaka) • The 46th Ashiya Exhibition (Ashiya Civic Center) • Gutai III: 1965–1972 (Ashiya City Museum of Art and History) • Postwar Artistic Challenges: Jiro Yoshihara and the Gutai Group (Ehime Prefectural Museum of Art) • KOBE ’93 Artful Kobe (Kobe Hankyu) • Gutai 1955/56: The Restarting Point of Contemporary Japanese Art (Ben Uri Institute) • Chiyu Uemae – NUI (Gallery Circus Circus, Kobe) |
| 1994 Age 74 | [Exh.] • Chiyu Uemae – NUI (Wacoal Ginza Art Space, Tokyo) • Gutai Group: Small Works (Gallery Renaissance, Tokyo) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Gallery Renaissance, Tokyo) • Works from the Collection of the Osaka Municipal Museum of Modern Art (ATC Museum, Osaka) |
| 1995 Age 75 | In January, a planned solo exhibition in Osaka was canceled due to the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. [Exh.] • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Yoseido Gallery, Tokyo) • Chiyu Uemae Print Exhibition (Gallery Renaissance, Tokyo) • Revived Thinking in Thread (Gallery Space 21, Tokyo) — traveled to Gallery Raku, Kyoto in July • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Nihon Gallery, Tokyo) [Pub.] • Koritsu no Michi: Solitary Paths published |
| 1996 Age 76 | In July, he was rushed to the hospital due to a cardiac condition and underwent surgery to implant a pacemaker. [Exh.] • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (LADS Gallery, Osaka) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Gallery Branche, Ikeda) • Ten Years of Avant-Garde Artists: Transformation and Continuity (Itabashi Art Museum, Tokyo) • Chiyu Uemae Print Exhibition (Nihon Gallery, Tokyo) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition: Prints and Oil Paintings (Gallery Nano Rium, Yamanashi) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Gallery Renaissance, Tokyo) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Gallery Circus Circus, Kobe)） |
| 1997 Age 77 | [Exh.] • Ardent Abstraction 1957–64 (Ashiya City Museum of Art and History) • Hidetaro Tsuchioka Memorial Special Exhibition: Chiyu Uemae – The Path of Isolation (R Gallery, Takefu) • Latent Forms: Tension and Contraction (Gallery Space 21, Tokyo) • The Contemporary Stitch: Japan Style – Three Artists (Montclair University, New Jersey) |
| 1998 Age 78 | [Exh.] • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Nihon Gallery, Tokyo) • Chiyu Uemae: 45 Years (Gallery Kuranuki, Osaka) • Kiiro Exhibition (LADS Gallery, Osaka) [Pub.] • A Reply Letter to Someone published |
| 1999 Age 79 | In April, he received the 28th Blue Mail Prize (Art Division). In the same year, he was awarded the Medal with Dark Blue Ribbon, a Japanese national honor awarded for contributions to the public good, and the Hyogo Prefectural Cultural Award. [Exh.] • Cosmology of Accumulation and Density: Chiyu Uemae (Osaka Prefectural Contemporary Art Center) • Gutai (Jeu de Paume National Gallery, Paris) • Three Cities of Contemporary Art 1943–1995 (Osaka Prefectural Contemporary Art Center) • The Eye that Observes Space (Niigata City Art Museum) • The 52nd Ashiya City Exhibition (Ashiya City Museum of Art and History) – exhibited as juror • One-Tsubo Art Exhibition (Gallery Kuranuki, Osaka) |
| 2000 Age 80 | [Exh.] • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (LADS Gallery, Osaka) • The 2000 Exhibition – A Journey into Art (Gallery Kuranuki, Osaka) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition – Commemorating the Kobe Citizen Award, Hyogo Prefectural Cultural Award, and Medal with Dark Blue Ribbon (Gallery Circus Circus, Kobe) • The 53rd Ashiya City Exhibition (Ashiya City Museum of Art and History) – exhibited as juror • The Sublime and Labor (Itabashi Art Museum, Tokyo) • Chiyu Uemae: New Print Works (Gallery Nauf, Gifu) [Pub.] • Print Works, April–August 2000 published |
| 2001 Age 81 | [Exh.] • Chiyu Uemae: Silkscreen Prints Since the 1980s (Gallery 1100, New York) • Print Mini Festa 2001 (Kaede Gallery, Osaka) • Chiyu Uemae: New Print Works (Art Spot Gallery Maya, Takatsuki) • Chiyu Uemae: Silkscreen Prints (Williamsburg Art & Historical Center, New York) • Chiyu Uemae: The Mystery of Works at Age 80 – Itami City Craft Center Renewal Commemorative Exhibition (Itami City Craft Center) • The 54th Ashiya City Exhibition (Ashiya City Museum of Art and History) – exhibited as juror • International Tannan Art 2001 (Takefu Civic Hall) • Exhibition at Hyogo Prefectural Guest House • Chiyu Uemae: New Print Works (Gallery Kuranuki, Osaka) • Print Exhibition (Maizuru Ge, Kyoto) |
| 2002 Age 82 | [Exh.] • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (LADS Gallery, Osaka) • Chiyu Uemae: New Print Works (Art Spot Gallery Maya, Takatsuki) • Chiyu Uemae Print Exhibition (New York) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Gallery Circus Circus, Kobe) • Chiyu Uemae: The Ever-Ripening Artist (Gendaikko Museum, Miyazaki) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Gallery Acostage, Takamatsu) • Chiyu Uemae Print Exhibition (New York) • Artists of the Gutai Art Association (Miyagi Museum of Art) • Chiyu Uemae: New Prints and Objects (Gallery Branche, Ikeda) [Pub.] • Chiyu Uemae: Abstract Works, 2000–2001 published |
| 2003 Age 83 | In July, while working on a small oil painting, he suffered an accident with an electric saw that resulted in the amputation of the thumb, index, and middle fingers of his left hand. Surgery succeeded in reattaching only the thumb. [Exh.] • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Fuji Gallery, Osaka) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Art Spot Gallery Maya, Takatsuki) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Tao Gallery, Kobe) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Art Salon Roro, Kakogawa) • Collection Exhibition of the Osaka Municipal Museum of Modern Art (provisional title): The Adventure of Painting – Toshimitsu Imai and the Path of Postwar Art (ATC Museum, Osaka) • Chiyu Uemae Print Exhibition: Silk Screen and Etching (Nihon Gallery, Tokyo) • The 11th International Tannan Art Festival 2003 (Takefu Civic Hall) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Gallery Sun Moon, Maizuru) • Chiyu Uemae Small Oil Paintings Exhibition (Gallery U, Osaka) • The Work of NUI – Stitch of Work: Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Sabae Contemporary Art Center) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition: Prints and Small Oil Paintings (Gallery Hiyume, Tokyo) |
| 2004 Age 84 | [Exh.] • Gutai Retrospective: 50th Anniversary of the Founding (Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art) • CHIYU UEMAE (2/20 Gallery, New York) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Art Spot Gallery Maya, Takatsuki) • Chiyu Uemae New Print Exhibition (Gallery Hiyume, Tokyo) • Chiyu Uemae Print Exhibition (Sabae Contemporary Art Center, Sabae) |
| 2005 Age 85 | [Exh.] • Gutai Three-Person Exhibition: Uemae, Horio, Matsutani (Art Salon Roro, Kakogawa) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Art Spot Gallery Maya, Takatsuki) • Chiyu Uemae: NUI Works Exhibition (Gallery Branche, Ikeda) • The Sewing Person: The Rich Time of Needlework (Borderless Art Gallery NO-MA, Omihachiman) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Gallery Circus Circus, Kobe) • Chiyu Uemae: Hometown Exhibition (Gallery Sun Moon, Maizuru) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Gallery Hiyume, Tokyo) • Chiyu Uemae and the Gutai Art Association (Fukuoka Art Museum) • Chiyu Uemae: Non-Figurative Works (Gallery Accostage, Takamatsu) • Collection Selection (Ashiya City Museum of Art and History) [Pub.] • On the “Sewing” Works (NUI) published |
| 2006 Age 86 | [Exh.] • Chiyu Uemae: A Certain State (Art Spot Gallery Maya, Takatsuki) • NUI: Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (LADS Gallery, Osaka) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Gallery Yume, Tokyo) • The World of Chiyu Uemae (Kaigan-dori Gallery CASO, Room X, Osaka) • Mushin Mukū: Chiyu Uemae × Sumie Aoki (Nihon Gallery, Tokyo) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Gallery Shimada, Kobe) |
| 2007 Age 87 | [Exh.] • Chiyu Uemae: A Rich World Woven Through Meticulous Work (Gallery Nonosono, Miyazaki) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (LADS Gallery, Osaka) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Art Spot Gallery Maya, Takatsuki) • Chiyu Uemae Works: NUI Series (Art Salon Lolo, Kakogawa) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Gallery Yume, Tokyo) • 10th Anniversary Exhibition: Chiyu Uemae (Gallery Sun Moon, Maizuru) • The Vast World of Small Surfaces (Adagio Ashiya, Ashiya) • Chiyu Uemae Print Exhibition (Tao Gallery, Kobe) • Beauty in the Palm of the Hand (Adagio Ashiya, Ashiya) • 30th Anniversary of The National Museum of Art, Osaka: 30 Years of the Collection (The National Museum of Art, Osaka) |
| 2008 Age 88 | [Exh.] • Chiyu Uemae: Mugen (Nihon Gallery, Tokyo) • Poetics of Points and Planes: Chiyu Uemae, Yoshikazu Yamanaka, Masahiko Tsubota (The Museum of Modern Art, Wakayama) • Chiyu Uemae: From Gutai to the Present (LADS Gallery, Osaka) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Yoseido Gallery, Tokyo) • After Gutai: Chiyu Uemae (Minami Aoyama Dokka, Tokyo) • monotone+ (Tomura Art, Tokyo) • Chiyu Uemae: The Rare World of Sumi Prints (Gallery Kiku, Osaka) • Chiyu Uemae Print Exhibition: A Modern Art Master from Maizuru (Gallery Sun Moon, Maizuru) |
| 2009 Age 89 | [Exh.] • Chiyu Uemae / Haruko Mitsudori: Two-Person Exhibition (MI Gallery, Osaka) • Chiyu Uemae: Trial Print Exhibition (Gendaikko Center, Miyazaki) • Collection Exhibition: Tokushima Collection 2009–1 (The Tokushima Modern Art Museum) • Chiyu Uemae: Nui / Stitch (Nihon Gallery, Tokyo) • Three Gutai Artists: Chiyu Uemae, Sadamasa Motonaga, Kazuo Shiraga (Gallery Sun Moon, Maizuru) • Gutai / Contemporary Art: Three-Person Collaboration Exhibition (Gallery It’s, Osaka) |
| 2010 Age 90 | [Exh.] • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (LADS Gallery, Osaka) • Chiyu Uemae Print Exhibition (Gallery Shimada, Kobe) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition: Prints, Sculpture, Nui, and Oil Paintings (Gallery Nekokameya, Osaka) • “A Painter Growing Ever More Radiant with Age, Part II”: Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Gendaikko Museum, Miyazaki / Miyazaki Prefectural Art Museum) • Chiyu Uemae Print Exhibition (Gallery Sun Moon, Maizuru) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition from Gallery Collections (Nihon Gallery, Tokyo) [Pub.] • Memories: At Nadahama, Kobe published |
| 2011 Age 91 | [Exh.] • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (LADS Gallery, Osaka) • 4SpiritS Exhibition (Kaede Gallery, Osaka) • Chiyu Uemae 92nd Birthday Commemorative Exhibition (Gendaikko Museum, Miyazaki) • Exhibition of Distinguished Figures from the Hometown (Omiya Fureai Workshop, Kyotango) • Chiyu Uemae Print Exhibition (Gallery Sun Moon, Maizuru) |
| 2012 Age 92 | [Exh.] • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Space Kusa, Toyonaka) • Wind of Karuizawa Exhibition (Karuizawa New Art Museum, Karuizawa) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Gallery Nekokameya, Osaka) • Chiyu Uemae Exhibition (Gallery Yusai, Nara) • Gutai: The 18-Year Trajectory of Japan’s Avant-Garde (The National Art Center, Tokyo) • Gutai / Contemporary Art: Three-Person Exhibition (Gallery It’s, Osaka) • The World of Chiyu Uemae (Gallery Shimada, Kobe) • 2nd 4SpiritS Exhibition (Kaede Gallery, Osaka) • Destroy the Picture: Painting the Void 1949–1962 (Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles) • Beyond Ninety: Chiyu Uemae’s Jigado (BB Plaza Museum of Art, Kobe) • Tokyo 1955–1970: A New Avant-Garde (The Museum of Modern Art, New York) |
| 2013 Age 93 | [Exh.] • Gutai: Splendid Playground (Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York) • Parallel Views: Italian and Japanese Art from the 1950s, 60s, and 70s (The Warehouse, Dallas) • GUTAI – Chiyu Uemae Special Exhibition (Whitestone Gallery, Tokyo) • Chiyu Uemae: The Earliest Beginnings – Homecoming Exhibition (Omiya Fureai Workshop, Kyotango) |
| 2014 Age 94 | [Exh.] • Chiyu Uemae – Marking Time: Pointillism, Matches, Nui, and Prints (Osaka Prefectural Enokojima Cultural Art and Creative Center [enoco]) • Gutai Artists in Karuizawa (Karuizawa New Art Museum, Karuizawa) • Tango Avant-Garde: Gentaro Komaki and Chiyu Uemae (Omiya Fureai Workshop, Kyotango) |
| 2015 Age 95 | [Exh.] • CHIYU UEMAE: A Solitary Path (Whitestone Gallery, Hong Kong) |
| 2017 Age 97 | [Exh.] • Binding Threads / Expanding Threads (Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art) |
| 2018 Age 97 | On April 16, he passed away of natural causes at the age of 97. |
References
- Jigado by Chiyu Uemae (Kyodo Publishing, 1985)
- Chiyu Uemae Chronology, edited by Hiroyuki Nakatsuka, in Cosmology of Accumulation and Density: Chiyu Uemae exhibition catalogue (Osaka Prefecture; Osaka Prefectural Cultural Foundation, 1999)
- Chiyu Uemae Chronology, edited by Shigeo Sasaki, in Beyond Ninety: Jigado of Chiyu Uemae exhibition catalogue (BB Plaza Museum of Art, 2012–2013)
- Uemae Diary 1947–2010: Chiyu Uemae and Gutai, edited by Hiroyuki Nakatsuka (Chiyu Uemae Memorial Foundation, 2019)
- “Uemae Chiyu: Obituary Article from the Yearbook of Japanese Art” (Tokyo Research Institute for Cultural Properties)