Miné Okubo’s Portraits at SEIZAN Gallery NYC
Miné Okubo, Untitled, 1940s from SEIZAN Gallery
Miné Okubo: Portraits
Now through Saturday, March 1
SEIZAN Gallery – 525 W. 26th Street (between 10th and 11th Avenues), Ground Floor
Admission: Free
SEIZAN Gallery is presenting Miné Okubo: Portraits, the gallery's first solo exhibition featuring work by one of the most influential Japanese American artists of the 20th Century. Until March 1, 2025, works by Okubo will be on public display, some for the first time, including eleven portraits completed in the late 1940s. Okubo achieved early success as an artist and continued to be extraordinarily prolific throughout her life until her death in 2001. She is most renowned for Citizen 13660, a groundbreaking memoir that combines visual art and narrative to record her experience living in Japanese American internment camps during World War II.
About Miné Okubo
Born in Riverside, California, in 1912, Miné Okubo was a nisei, or second-generation Japanese American. After earning an MFA in art and anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley, she was awarded the prestigious Bertha Taussig Fellowship to study in Paris under Fernand Léger. When World War II broke out, Okubo returned to the United States in 1939 on the last ship from Europe. Back in California, she contributed to mural projects under the Federal Art Project and curated exhibitions.
From 1942 to 1944, Okubo was detained at the Tanforan Relocation Center in San Bruno, California, and at the Topaz Internment Camp in Utah. While in these camps, she created more than 2,000 drawings using charcoal, watercolor, pen, and ink. During this time she taught art to others in the incarcerated population, alongside Chiura Obata and other notable artists. Published in 1946, Citizen 13660 includes nearly 200 illustrations documenting daily life in the camps. It received the American Book Award in 1984.
Miné Okubo, Untitled, 1940s from SEIZAN Gallery
Life and Work in New York City
After her release from Topaz in 1944, Okubo relocated to New York City, where she went on to have a successful career as a commercial illustrator for prestigious publications such as The New York Times, LIFE, and Fortune while continuing her painting practice. Her debut assignment was illustrating the magazine's April 1944 "Japan" issue. Portraits—especially of women and children—remained a central focus of her work. In "Personal Statement" she wrote "From the beginning, my work has been rooted in a concern for the humanities."
The eleven portraits featured in this exhibition were created in the late 1940s, just a few years after Okubo’s release from the camps. These bold, powerful works share stylistic connections with her earlier charcoal drawings from the internment period, which are also displayed in the gallery. While her camp drawings often convey the despair and trauma of the incarcerated, the later portraits—rendered in colorful pastel—capture energy, strength, and compassion. The anonymous figures exude vitality and humanity, celebrating everyday life and signal an early transition to Okubo's iconic, color-rich style.
Recognition and Legacy
Her contributions have been recognized in numerous ways. In 1965, CBS-TV featured her in the documentary Nisei: The Pride and the Shame. In 1972, her first retrospective was held at the Oakland Museum. In 1981, Okubo testified before the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians (CWRIC), advocating for the inclusion of internment history in educational curricula.
Okubo’s works are now archived at the Center for Social Justice & Civil Liberties at Riverside Community College District and featured in prominent museum collections, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Japanese American National Museum, and the Oakland Museum. Her legacy endures in exhibitions like The View from Within curated by Karin Higa in 1992 at the Japanese American National Museum as well as on-going group exhibition Pictures of Belonging: Miki Hayakawa, Hisako Hibi, and Miné Okubo at the Smithsonian American Art Museum curated by ShiPu Wang through August 17, 2025.
SEIZAN Gallery
Located in Chelsea, SEIZAN’s hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 11:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. and Sunday and Monday by appointment. For more information, please visit SEIZAN Gallery’s website.
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Renowned Japanese Doll maker to Exhibit at The Nippon Club
Harmony of Artistry: Japanese Kyugetsu Dolls and Traditional Crafts
Thursday, November 14 until Wednesday, November 20
The Nippon Gallery – 145 W. 57th Street (between 6th and 7th Avenues)
Admission: Free
Founded during the Tenpo era of the Edo period in 1835, Kyugetsu is a renowned Japanese doll maker with a legacy that spans 189 years. The company will hold a special exhibition at The Nippon Gallery. Kyugetsu is celebrated for its exceptional craftsmanship, creating hina and gogatsu dolls that have long been integral to Japan’s seasonal festivals. The company’s unique strength lies in its “ensemble craftsmanship,” which involves meticulously assembling each artisan’s work into beautifully balanced sets.
Samurai Helmet Decoration Kyoto Style by Kyugetsu
This exhibition will showcase carefully selected masterpieces from Kyugetsu. It will highlight the beauty of Japanese traditional crafts, including dolls created using traditional techniques rooted in various regions of Japan, such as gold leaf, lacquer, dyeing, and weaving. These Japanese dolls exemplify "the harmony of artistry," embodying the essence of traditional craftsmanship.
Such dolls include Hina dolls, which are traditional Japanese dolls displayed in March for Girls’ Day. These dolls represent the imperial court and are meant to wish for health and happiness for girls. There are also Gogatsu dolls (May dolls), which are traditional Japanese dolls displayed in May for Children’s Day. These dolls represent samurai warriors and are meant to wish for strength and good health for boys. Additionally, guests will see elegant Oyama dolls that represent the grace of women, as well as vibrant Renjishi dolls inspired by classical performing arts.
Japan has a long-standing tradition of gifting dolls to celebrate occasions like births and weddings. Beyond mere toys or decorations, dolls are cherished symbols of Japanese culture and customs. Harmony of Artistry offers an exceptional opportunity to appreciate the culmination of Japanese traditional crafts through dolls while also experiencing the spirit of Japan that has been passed down through generations.
Oyama Doll "Tayu" by Kyugetsu
Renjishi Dolls by Kyugetsu
Kimekomi Decoration "Anima Rhinoceros" by Kyugetsu
The Nippon Club Gallery Hours
Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.
Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
Closed Sunday
For more information, please visit The Gallery’s website or contact the Gallery at 212-581-2223.
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JAPANESE MANGA ARTIST & ILLUSTRATOR ACKY BRIGHT FEATURED AT JAPAN SOCIETY
Acky Bright: Studio Infinity
Friday, October 4 through Sunday, January 19, 2025
Japan Society – 333 E. 47th Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenues)
Admission: $12 nonmembers | $10 students and seniors | Free First Fridays from 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.
Japan Society presents Acky Bright: Studio Infinity, a showcase of the rising star’s unique kawakakkoii (cute and cool) style of illustration and product design. A distinguished Japanese manga artist and illustrator, Acky Bright is known for his unique worldbuilding.
Conceived as Acky Bright’s design studio, the exhibition offers visitors an exceptional opportunity to meet the artist, witness his freestyle “live drawing,” and participate in making a series of manga-style murals. Performative and interactive, the exhibition, which previewed during the weekend of Anime NYC in August, will evolve as Acky Bright makes intermittent appearances in the gallery.
The exhibition will feature two new painting series by Acky Bright, KBK-18, and Ah-Un, that each draw inspiration from traditional Japanese art and theater. Underscoring the impressive range of his contemporary art practice, the show will also highlight Acky Bright’s promotional campaigns designed for major companies, including his multimedia designs for the nationwide “WcDonald’s” campaign, YOASOBI x Vaundy’s FRIES BEAT 2024 music video, and Squid Game coloring book illustrated for Netflix.
Gallery Information
Thursday through Sunday from 11:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m.
Closed on major holidays
Tickets include entry to both of Japan Society’s fall exhibitions, Acky Bright: Studio Infinity and Bunraku Backstage. To purchase tickets, please visit Japan Society’s website.
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Japan Society Spotlights Women Artists
Image: Products for Fluxus editions, 1964.
Digital Image © The Museum of Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA / Art Resource, NY
Out of Bounds: Japanese Women Artists in Fluxus
Friday, October 13 through Sunday, January 21
Japan Society – 333 E. 47th Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenues)
Admission: $12 | $10 Seniors and Students | Free Japan Society Members
Japan Society’s latest exhibition, Out of Bounds: Japanese Women Artists in Fluxus, explores the essential role of Japanese women in Fluxus, a movement instigated in the 1960s that helped contemporary artists define new modes of artistic expression. Near the 60th anniversary of the movement’s founding, this exhibition highlights the contributions of four pioneering Japanese artists: Shigeko Kubota, Yoko Ono, Takako Saito, and Mieko Shiomi. Displays of their works and the ephemera surrounding it contextualize their place within Fluxus and the broader artistic movements of the 1960s and beyond.
Out of Bounds: Japanese Women Artists in Fluxus is organized by guest curator Midori Yoshimoto and Tiffany Lambert, Curator and Interim Director, Japan Society, with Ayaka Iida, Assistant Curator, Japan Society.
For full details and to book your tickets, please visit Japan Society’s website.
Support JapanCulture•NYC by becoming a member! For $5 a month, you’ll help maintain the high quality of our site while we continue to showcase and promote the activities of our vibrant community. Please click here to begin your membership today!