TSUNEO MARUYAMA
Art Museum
Artist TSUNEO MARUYAMA
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Artist TSUNEO MARUYAMA
Chronological record
Born in Ōya, Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan
1945
Studied under Yoshio Nakanishi
1947
Exhibited at the Nihon Independant Exhibition
1953
First exhibited at Shunyo Art Exhibition; continued to exhibit every year thereafter
1964
Associate member of Shunyo-kai Art Society
1966
1971
Full member and judge of Shunyo-kai Art Society
1974
Exhibited at Yasui Prize Exhibition
1985
Self-introduction
The massive monster of civilisation, which we humans have unleashed, grows more powerful by the day, mercilessly intruding even into our spiritual lives. With a speed we’ve never experienced before, the mechanisms of destruction and construction overlap, bringing about numerous despairing forms of pollution and swiftly transforming the environment we were once accustomed to without a trace. In this high-speed age, where we risk losing our sense of self in the chaos of modern civilisation, the annual Shunyō Art Exhibition, though perhaps somewhat pre-modern, offers me a valuable opportunity to reflect on the foundation of our humanity.
Every time I travel to Tokyo for the Shunyō Art Exhibition and meet the senior members in the museum cafeteria, they ask me, half in disbelief, “Crabs again this year?” I reply,“Yes, just a fool repeating the same thing…”
In today’s constantly changing and diverse world, I may be seen as nostalgic or even sentimental. Yet, I retreat into my small shell, seeking refuge from the noise of the outside world. I hide my emotions behind the symbol of the “crab” and, though it may not be grand or spectacular, I want to continue quietly expressing, in my own clumsy words, the proof of life as I see it today. (Tsuneo Maruyama, Self-Introduction, Shunyō No. 26, 10 October 1971)
My way
Mr. Maruyama grew up in Ōya, the former Kangawa Village, where the atelier of renowned painter Kanae Yamamoto, the founder of Japanese peasant art and free art education, once stood. Influenced by the presence of Hakuyo Kurata, a close friend of Kanae Yamamoto and one of the founders of the Shunyo-kai art society, he began oil painting at the age of seventeen and, after the war, attended the Jiyū Bijutsu Kenkyūjo (Free Art Institute) for a year.
Before long, prominent figures such as Akamatsu Arata and Yoshio Nakanishi, alongside others studying Western painting in Ueda, organised a week-long Western painting workshop with Shikanosuke Oka, a recipient of the Order of Culture and a member of the Shunyō-kai, as the lecturer. Maruyama was one of the attendees, and over time, these sessions evolved into study groups for discussing works of art. It was from this point that Maruyama began studying under Oka.
In 1951, Maruyama exhibited a size 50 painting titled Cows with Red Ribbons at the Nihon Independant Exhibition, hosted by the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, where his extraordinary talent was recognised. Two years later, he exhibited Still Life with Stove (size 50) at the Shunyō art exhibition. From then on, he exhibited works at the Shunyō art exhibition annually, and six years ago, he was elected as a full member, which also made him a judge.
During this time, he continued painting red crabs and made a trip to Europe. In the autumn of 1974, Maruyama was recommended by the Shunyō-kai art society to exhibit his large-scale work Three Crabs (size 80) at the Sotaro Yasui Prize Exhibition, where it received high praise. This piece, characterised by a red horizontal line depicting three crabs, was a sensory-driven painting and was highly acclaimed by Master Shikanosuke Oka, who called it an “outstanding work”. (My Way, published in an unidentified newspaper)
Shunyokai Art Society and Shinshu Ueda
During the Taishō era, the free art movement and the creation of peasant art originated in this area, led by Kanae Yamamoto and Hakuyō Kurata, both of whom were founding members of the Shunyō-kai art society. Even after the passing of lecturer Tsuruzō Ishii, the Sculpture Research Society, with its fifty-year history, remains active, inviting Professor Nakagawa for commemorative lectures. After the war, in 1947, under the leadership of Arata Akamatsu, and through the deep connection to Ueda held by Hōan Kosugi, Oka-sensei was invited as a lecturer, and the Rokuen-kai workshop was founded. To this day, the society has produced five full members, three associate members, and several affiliates of Shunyo-kai art society. Growing up in this deeply rooted soil, I feel an immense gratitude for the unparalleled fortune I’ve had and a sense of responsibility for the future. (Tsuneo Maruyama, Shunyō No. 32, 28 April 1976)
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