Background
Kikuo Saito was born in 1939 in Tokyo, Japan.
215 W 57th St, New York, NY 10019, United States
The Art Students League of New York where Kikuo Saito studied art.
‘Silver Snail’ by Kikuo Saito purchased at Heritage Auctions, Dallas for $10,625 in 2014.
Kikuo Saito working in his studio.
Kikuo Saito at work.
Kikuo Saito was born in 1939 in Tokyo, Japan.
Kikuo Saito received artistic education at the Art Students League of New York.
Kikuo Saito created his first paintings in 1956 and then earned money serving for three years as a proctor and studio technician at the atelier of the successful Japanese artist Sensei Itoh. While there, Kikuo Saito discovered both the traditional arts of his home country and such modern movements like, for example, the Gutai Group, and Color Field.
Saito pursued the exploration of other art directions in New York City where he relocated in 1966. First, he assisted various influential artists, like Helen Frankenthaler, Larry Poons, and Kenneth Noland. Then, after the meeting with Ellen Stewart, founder of La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, he soon became its resident and entered the world of theater production.
Working on the decorations and costumes for stage performances as well as directing some of them, the artist collaborated with many actors, choreographers and stage directors, including Jerome Robbins, Robert Wilson, Peter Brook, and Eva Maier. Saito assisted Wilson on his stage projects on the Italian Festival of Two Worlds, in Shiraz, Iran, and in Paris, France.
Since the middle of the 1970s, Kikuo Saito concentrated on his own paintings. The debut solo exhibition of his works took place at Deitcher O'Reilly Gallery in February 1976. The show was followed by hundreds of others, including the group ones, around the United States, Europe, and Japan.
In 1996, Saito joined the staff of Duke University as an artist in residence. While there, Saito returned to his theatre activity and along with his then-wife Eva Maier produced a performance without words titled ‘Toy Garden’ which was later demonstrated at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. The stage production was followed by another one, ‘Ash Garden’, shown at the La Guardia High School of Music, Art, and Performing Arts, in 2001.
Kikuo Saito applied the experience he received in painting and theater as a painting instructor at the Art Students League of New York teaching there till the end of his days.
Kikuo Saito’s first wife was a dancer Eva Maier. The artist was also married to a woman named Mikiko Ino.