Captive Artist: Watercolors by Kakunen Tsuruoka (1892-1977)

I've posted twice in the last eight months about the Japanese-American artist Kakunen Tsuruoka, once about his California woodblock prints and then about his "lost" Yosemite print.  As a consequence, anyone who enjoyed those posts will be interested in knowing that, in connection with the upcoming New York Asia Week (March 13-23, 2019), the prestigious Scholten Gallery in New York City is mounting an exhibition called "Captive Artist: Watercolors by Kakunen Tsuruoka (1892-1977)."

  

Untitled (mesquite with mist lingering on brush) (c. 1942-1944) by Kakunen Tsuruoka

Courtesy of the Scholten Gallery

(watercolor on paper) 

 

 Untitled (dark clouds descending over brushland) (c. 1942-1944) by Kakunen Tsuruoka

Courtesy of the Scholten Gallery

(watercolor on paper) 

Curated by the Director of the Scholten Gallery, Katherine Martin, the exhibition features 25 landscape paintings created while Kakunen was confined to Poston Camp III, part of the Colorado River Relocation Center in Arizona.  This was one of ten camps to which Japanese-Americans were forcibly relocated during the Second World War.  Kakunen depicted the bleak and barren landscape around camp in a somewhat expressionist style, producing paintings that seemingly mirrored the alienation, isolation, and loneliness that Kakunen and no doubt other camp inhabitants were feeling at the time.

 

 Untitled (vertical mesquite) (c. 1942-1944) by Kakunen Tsuruoka

Courtesy of the Scholten Gallery

(watercolor on paper)

 

 Untitled (dark sky over mist on mesquite and brush) (c. 1942-1944) 

by Kakunen Tsuruoka

Courtesy of the Scholten Gallery

(watercolor on paper)

The exhibition also features 15 of Kakunen's early decorative bird-and-flower paintings and Japanesque landscapes.  These paintings, as well as the ones from the internment camp, are from the Estate of Haruno Tsuruoka (1924–2017), the artist's daughter-in-law, and are being offered by members of her family.  Rounding out the exhibition are a  selection of Kakunen's woodblock prints published by Watanabe Shozoburô in the 1930s.

 

 Untitled (pair of heron on snowy branch) (c. 1920s) by Kakunen Tsuruoka

Courtesy of the Scholten Gallery

(ink and color on light brown card stock)

 Untitled (two figures crossing bridge in rain) (c. 1930s) by Kakunen Tsuruoka

Courtesy of the Scholten Gallery

(ink and color on paper) 

Fortunately, those unable to visit the Scholten Gallery in person can view the entire exhibition on-line, with links to separate pages where detailed information about each painting or print can be found.  The Scholten website also includes a lengthy discussion of Kakunen's life and career which is well worth reading.