Chiyū Uemae valuation
Founding member of the Gutai group, known for densely worked surfaces built from repeated gestures and humble materials.
Chiyū Uemae (1920–2018) was born in Kyoto.
What a work by Chiyū Uemae is worth
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Bio
Chiyū Uemae (1920–2018) was born in Kyoto. Largely self-taught, he studied nanga, the literati style of Japanese painting, before turning to oil painting, and he won first prize at the annual exhibition of the Niki-kai, an artists' association founded in 1947. He was one of the founding members of the Gutai Art Association, met its leader Jirō Yoshihara in November 1953, and took part in every Gutai exhibition from then until the group disbanded in 1972. His work is marked by repeated gestures, close attention to detail and texture, and an interest in everyday things such as matches, paint tubes and sawdust; between 1956 and 1964 he made works steeped in the leftovers of daily life, often on canvases patched together from scraps. He kept working for decades after Gutai ended.
His works on canvas and fabric are often thickly built up or pieced together, so they should be checked for losses, lifting and old repairs. The date of the work and any exhibition history help to place it within his long career.
At a glance
- Born
- 31 July 1920, Kyoto
- Died
- 16 April 2018, Kyoto
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