Minoru Niizuma

Minoru Niizuma (新妻 実) was a Japanese abstract sculptor.

Minoru Niizuma (新妻 実, Niizuma Minoru, Tokyo JP September 29, 1930 – East Hampton USA September 5, 1998) was a Japanese abstract sculptor.

Minoru Niizuma graduated from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 1955, and from 1954 through 1958 he exhibited with the Modern Art Association.

Niizuma moved to New York in 1959, and from 1964 through 1970 he was an instructor at the Brooklyn Museum Art School.

From 1972 through 1984, he was adjunct professor at Columbia University.

Niizuma worked mostly marble, but also granite, volcanic rock and other materials.

His designs would vary from geometric to organic and, sometimes, his references were reminiscent from folk art.

His works show the influence of the oriental Asian tradition and the western contemporary art.

The Wave's Voice, installed in the Honolulu Museum of Art, is a typical example of his work.

The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Washington, D. C.), the Honolulu Museum of Art and the Mie Prefectural Art Museum (Tsu City, Japan), the Museum of Modern Art (New York City), the National Museum of Modern Art (Tokyo), the Seibu Museum (Tokyo), the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York York City) and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon are among the public collections holding works by Niizuma.

Niizuma worked extensively in Portugal from 1981 through 1998.

He was an integral figure in strengthening the cultural and artistic relationship between Portugal and Japan.

Niizuma first came to Portugal as a member of the Évora Symposium of 1981.

While there, he worked with many other prominent Portuguese artists, like João Cutileiro, Pedro Ramos and Manuel Costa Cabral.

After recognizing the beautiful marble and other stones that were widely available in Portugal and having cultivated relationships with other sculptors, Niizuma continued to work in Portugal, mainly in Lisbon.

He worked with the President of Portugal, Mario Soares (1986 - 1996) to bring Japanese art to the country, while also introducing many Portuguese artists to Japan.

In 1986, Niizuma had a full exhibition at the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, and even today, two of his sculptures are on permanent display.

Jose Berardo, a prominent Portuguese art collector and businessman is a large collector of Niizuma’s works.

Niizuma had several exhibitions at the Berardo Museum in Lisbon.

Today, over 30 pieces are displayed at the Minoru Niizuma Sculpture Garden located at Berardo’s Bacalhoa Winery-Museum just outside of Lisbon.

He participated in São Miguel Island, Azores, at an international rock sculpture symposium, creating his work "Azores" (1987), in basalt, now shown in Ponta Delgada.

His last exhibition was held in Lisbon in July 1998 at Galeria Antiks Design, "4 Japanese Living in Portugal - Nakaoka, Niizuma, Takemoto, Sakamoto", by Zambeze Almeida and Carlos Henrich.

Niizuma has several large scale sculptures on display in public areas in Lisbon.

There are some in public parks as well as in museums.

They are all in serene locations and easy to view.

Several of Niizuma's sculptures are viewable in United States, mainly on the East Coast.

While museums like the Guggenheim, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Smithsonian all have acquired Niizuma sculptures in their permanent collection, they do not always display them.

There are however, several pieces that can be seen in sculpture gardens, institutions, or campuses around the country.

Niizuma studied at the Tokyo University of Arts before moving to New York City.

After establishing himself as a prominent sculptor in New York and attending several stone symposiums, Niizuma organized several himself in Japan.

Niizuma organized the Iwate Symposium for several years, inviting many sculptors to complete works in Iwate, Japan.

There is a museum and sculpture garden dedicated Minoru Niizuma's works at the Sekigahara Seisakusho Company in Sekigahara, Japan.

There are also many pieces on view throughout Japan.