Paul AÏZPIRI nurtured by Kiyoshi TAMENAGA

Vernissage : samedi 12 juillet à partir de 16h

La Galerie Taménaga a le plaisir de vous annoncer l’ouverture de l’exposition Paul AÏZPIRI Nurtured by Kiyoshi TAMENAGA, qui se tiendra du samedi 12 juillet au dimanche 17 août.

Galerie Taménaga is pleased to present “Paul AÏZPIRI nurtured by Kiyoshi TAMENAGA” from July 12 to August 17, 2025. This exhibition marks the final chapter of our 56-year history in Ginza before the gallery transitions to a new home on the distinguished Kotto-dori in Minami-Aoyama.
As our concluding presentation in Ginza, this exhibition celebrates the profound artistic and personal alliance between our founder, Kiyoshi Tamenaga (1932–2025), and the eminent French painter Paul Aïzpiri (1919–2016)—a relationship that spanned nearly six decades. The exhibition will feature approximately 35 works, tracing the full arc of Aïzpiri’s oeuvre, from his formative years to his radiant late period, each canvas imbued with the artist’s enduring themes of love, joy, and poetic vitality.
When Galerie Taménaga opened its doors in 1969, the Japanese art scene was only beginning to embrace Impressionist painting; the artists of the École de Paris and the next generation of European painters remained virtually unknown. Kiyoshi Tamenaga made it his life’s calling to introduce these overlooked talents to Japan. In parallel, he actively championed contemporary artists, bringing their works into museum collections and private hands. Among them, Paul Aïzpiri emerged as a singular figure of mutual admiration and trust.
Their first encounter in Paris in 1957 laid the foundation for a lasting friendship. When the Tokyo gallery opened, Aïzpiri was not only among its inaugural represented artists but was also granted the gallery’s very first solo exhibition. Over the ensuing decades, Galerie Taménaga staged more than 60 solo exhibitions of Aïzpiri’s works across its locations, placing over 3,000 of his pieces with collectors worldwide.
Regular visits by Tamenaga to Aïzpiri’s Parisian studio served as creative catalysts. Under his encouragement, Aïzpiri’s pictorial language evolved with striking richness—culminating in the 1980s with compositions characterized by vibrant chromatic intensity and bold, elemental forms. In his later years, Aïzpiri embraced a luminous and whimsical aesthetic, where figures and bicycles danced freely across his canvases, embodying a spirit of levity and imagination. His enduring acclaim today stands as a testament to the vision and patronage of Kiyoshi Tamenaga.
Since our inception, the Tokyo gallery alone has hosted more than 30 exhibitions dedicated to Paul Aïzpiri. As the final chapter of our Ginza story, this exhibition stands not only as a tribute to a remarkable painter, but also as a historic reflection on the pioneering legacy of Kiyoshi Tamenaga. We warmly invite you to witness this moment of transition and remembrance—a milestone that bridges past and future in the evolving narrative of Galerie Taménaga.