Edutainment > Ryosaku Ito - born 1941

Ryosaku Ito
My Favorite Songs - Sukiyaki Song
copyright Ryosaku Ito

"Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius."
(Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. 1756-1791)

You can recognize the international importance of Ryosaku Ito by ONE simple fact. He has exhibited with the French Salon d'Automne since 1981. Yes, this is the annual autumn art exhibition founded in 1903 by Georges Rouault, André Derain, Henri Matisse and Albert Marquet. The second thing you should know about Ryosaku Ito is his love for classical European music, mainly operas like "The Magic Flute" by Mozart.

Career

Ryosaku Ito was born in Kyoto, Japan in 1941. In 1964 he graduated from the oil painting department of the Kyoto Municipal Fine Art University. Since 1976 he has participated in the annual Shun-yo-kai Exhibition in the Metropolitan Museum of Tokyo.

From 1981 to the present day the artist has been a member of the Salon d'Automne ("Autumn Salon"). This is one of the most renowned French art exhibitions. It takes place every October or November at the Grand Palais in Paris, France.

Since 1965 Ryosaku Ito has been continuously on extensive solo and group exhibitions and gallery presentations in Japan and Europe.

Ryosaku Ito and The Magic Flute

Ryosaku Ito
The Magic Flute
copyright Ryosaku Ito

As Ryosaku Ito is very interested in music. Many of his art works deal with European operas and symphonies. When the Metropolitan Opera came to Japan in 1997, Ryosaku Ito was asked to contribute to the art exhibition in commemoration of the visit of the Metropolitan Opera in Japan.

Ito, who was very pleased, chose his favorite opera "Die Zauberflöte" ("The Magic Flute") by Mozart and designed the prints "Eternal Growth" and "The Room Full of the Sound of the Magic Flute" using repetitive designs and patterns so that a wall could be covered all over. He also made a dozen smaller works representing other famous operas such as "Falstaff" by Verdi and "Salome" by Richard Strauss.

Exhibitions and Awards

Ryosaku Ito
The Knight of the Rose
copyright Ryosaku Ito

• 1983 - Henri Worland Memorial Print Award, Australia.
• 1984 - Small Graphic Forms, International Exhibition, Lodz - Poland, 1985.
• 1985 - International Art Biennial, International Invitational Exhibition, Valparaíso - Chile.
• 1986 - Intergrafik 87, International Invitational Exhibition, East Berlin - GDR.
• 1986 - 25th Joan Miró International Drawing Competition, Joan Miró Foundation, Barcelona - Spain.
• 1987 - International Print Biennial, International Invitational Exhibition, Varna - Bulgaria, 1987.
• 1987 - "Art of Today", International Fine Art Exhibition, Budapest - Hungary.
• 1988 - Salon des Artistes Français, Société des Artistes Français, Paris - France, 1986.
• 1989 - Lahti Poster Biennial, Finland.
• 1989 - Bulgarian Print Biennale, International Invitational Exhibition, Varna - Bulgaria.
• 1989 - 18th International Biennial of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana - Yugoslavia.
• 1989 - International Ex-libris Competition, Belgium.
• 1991 - 10th Mini Print International, Cadaques - Spain.

Affiliations and Collections

Ryosaku Ito
Opera - Otello by Verdi
copyright Ryosaku Ito

Ryosaku Ito's warm and whimsical works can be found in many children's books and musical series such as "My Favorite Song Series". The artist has been a member of the prestigious Salon D'Automne in France since 1981 and Shun-yo-kai, the large influential artist society in Japan, since 1976.

His works are among others in the permanent collections of the Bulgaria Cultural Ministry, the Rio de Janeiro Modern Art Museum and the Budapest Youth Artists Association.

Technique and Style

Mr. Ryosaku Ito works in the traditional Japanese technique of woodblock prints. The use of colors and the style show some influence by Japanese printmaker Shiko Munakata.

Commemorative Art Exhibition

Below is a photograph of Mr. Ito Ryosaku in front of his installation at the art exhibition for the commemoration of the visit of the Metropolitan Opera in 1997.

Ryosaku Ito and Installation
Commemorative Art Exhibition in 1997
copyright Ryosaku Ito

Ryosaku Ito Gallery

Here are a few more woodblock prints by Ryosaku Ito.

Ryosaku Ito
My Favorite Songs - Desert of the Moon
copyright Ryosaku Ito

Ryosaku Ito
My Favorite Songs - Four Seasons
copyright Ryosaku Ito

Ryosaku Ito
Romanza - 7
copyright Ryosaku Ito

Ryosaku Ito
Opera - Turandot by Puccini
copyright Ryosaku Ito

Ryosaku Ito
Opera - La Boheme by Puccini
copyright Ryosaku Ito

Ryosaku Ito
The Magic Flute - detail
copyright Ryosaku Ito

Ryosaku Ito
The Magic Flute - detail
copyright Ryosaku Ito

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