Shinkichi Tajiri

Shinkichi Tajiri (Los Angeles 1923 – Baarlo 2009) was a Dutch – American artist of Japanese descent, most known for his sculpturing work.

He received his education at the Art Institute of Chicago leaving for Paris in 1948 where he studied with Ossip Zadkine, Fernand Lèger, Académie Colarossi and the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. In Paris he came into contact with several artists of the CoBrA movement and in 1949 het participated in two exhibitions of Experimental Art (CoBrA) in the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam in 1949 and Museé des Beaux Arts, Liège in 1951. In 1956 he moved to Amsterdam together with his wife Ferdi Jansen – also an sculptor – whom he met while studying with Zadkine.

In the late 1950’s he exhibited with several influential Dutch artist like Wessel Couzijn and Carel Visser.  In the 1960’s he was invited to represent The Netherlands at the Documenta II (1959), Documenta III (1964), Documenta IV (1968) and the 31st Venice Biennale (1962). In 1969 Tajiri was appointed professor at the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin on request by its art students, where he taught until 1989. From 1962 until his passing away in 2009 Shinkichi Tajiri lived and worked at the Castle Scheres in Baarlo in the Southern part of The Netherlands.

Tajiri was a recipient of many awards and honorary titles, most notable Officer in the Order of Oranje-Nassau, Member of the Royal Academy of Belgium and Knight in the Order of the Dutch Lion. many of his sculptures are part of museal collections ie: Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Cobra Museum Amstelveen, Bonnefantenmuseum Maastricht and Museum Het valkhof, Nijmegen.