Yoshida, Chizuko

Chizuko Yoshida (吉田 千鶴子, March 20, 1924 – April 1, 2017 Yokohama) was a Japanese modernist artist, whose work reflected the development of art in Japan following World War II.

Chizuko was noted for providing a connective link between widespread modern art movements (such as abstract expressionism and op art) and traditional Japanese imagery. She was also important as the middle link in the succession of three generations of women artists in the widely recognized Yoshida family. She was the wife of artist Hodaka Yoshida (1926–1995). Hodaka’s mother, Fujio Yoshida (1887–1987), was a noted artist alongside of her husband Hiroshi Yoshida (1876–1950). Chizuko’s daughter, Ayomi Yoshida (born 1958), is well known for her modernist woodblock prints and room-size woodblock-chip installations. Three generations of women artists in one family is a rare phenomenon in Japanese art history.

Chizuko’s woodblock prints range from geometric abstraction to music to phenomena in nature to beautiful gestures composed of butterflies or flowers. A refined Japanese aesthetic prevails within her use of various modern international styles.