Background
Kazuo Nakamura was born on October 13, 1926 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He was a son of Toichi Nakamura and Yoshiyo (Uyemoto) Nakamura.
2000
Ontario College of Art and Design
2000
Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
Central Technical School
Ontario College of Art and Design
Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
Kazuo Nakamura was born on October 13, 1926 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He was a son of Toichi Nakamura and Yoshiyo (Uyemoto) Nakamura.
During the period from 1948 to 1951, Kazuo studied art at Central Technical School in Toronto.
During World War II, at the age of fifteen, Nakamura was interned at a camp near Hope, British Columbia, Canada. The camp and its surroundings became the subject of some of his earliest paintings. After the war, the painter settled down with his family in Toronto.
In 1953, Kazuo's works were shown at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa. There, he met the painters, who were the members of the group of abstract painters, called "Painters Eleven". Nakamura was also invited to join the collective. Nakamura’s work differed from the works of other members of the Painters Eleven. He created simple works, employing a more monochromatic colour palette. Moreover, unlike the other members, Nakamura followed a highly analytical approach to painting, rather than a gestural one.
Since 1954 to 1957, Nakamura produced Block Structure paintings and sculptures, followed by his String series, a suite of monochromatic landscapes. In 1955, Kazuo took part in the first Biennial Exhibition of Canadian Painting at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. In the 1960's, he created a series of sculptural towers, which he called "Tower Structures". In the early 1970's, his work took a dramatic turn - he abandoned his previous styles, and during the next 25 years produced a body of work, entitled "Number Structures", containing grids, tables and triangles, in which he connected mathematics and art.
During the 1970's and 1980's, the painter distanced himself from the Painters Eleven and started to produce more abstract compositions. In 1983 and 1984, his works were shown in London, Paris and Madrid. Some time later, in 1991, he exhibited his works at the New Canadian Embassy in Tokyo. In 2001, a retrospective of his works was held at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa.
Structure, Two Horizons
Structures
Composition 10-51
Number Structure #3
Infinite Waves
Autumn
Into Space 3
Central 4
August Morning
Blue Reflections
Number Structure #5
In Space, Blue Irises
Hillside
Spatial Concept
Watercolor
Two Horizons
Untitled (2 potted plants)
Summer Storm
City's Suburb
Three Plants
Inner View
Time and Space Series 2
Morning Mist
Inner Structure
Inner Structure no. 5
Topology Series 1
Pine Forest
Solitude 7
Topology Spatial Concepts
Inner Structure
Time and Space Series 1
White Landscape
Inner Structure
Reflection
Inner View #3
Ages Past
Kazuo married Lillian Yuriko Kobayakawa on September 15, 1967. Their marriage produced two children — Elaine Yukae and Bryan Kazuto.
