Education
She painted and wrote poetry in high school, and studied the art of children"s stories under the Japanese novelist and poet Sakae Tsuboi.
南 桂子
She painted and wrote poetry in high school, and studied the art of children"s stories under the Japanese novelist and poet Sakae Tsuboi.
Keiko Minami, orphaned at a young age, expressed an early interest in the arts Her artistic style was influenced by such artists as Paul Klee, Yōzō Hamaguchi, Johnny Friedlaender, Yoshio Mori, and Japanese print artists. Minami and Hamaguchi moved to Paris in late 1953 where Minami began studying under Johnny Friedlaender, a pioneer in aquatint etching.
1911
Born in Toyama, Japan
1927-1929
Attended the School of Fine Arts Tokyo (東京美術学校), now called the Tokyo University of the Arts (東京藝術大学)
Late 1953
Moved to Paris and began to study aquatint etching
1959
Named the official artist of the United Nations, 1959
1961
Sold one of her early works to the city of Paris
Entered into a contract with German art dealer Heinz Berggruen
1996
Returned to Japan after more than forty years abroad
2004
Died in her early 90s
Soon after beginning her study of aquatint etching under Johnny Friedlaender, Minami sold one of her early works to the city of Paris.
In the late 1950s, Minami"s works were reproduced and sold as greeting cards by both the Museum of Modern Art and United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund. In 1961, Heinz Berggruen, a dealer in modern prints known for his collection of 20th-century masterpieces, became Minami"s exclusive art dealer.