Ryuji Tanaka II

Ryuji Tanaka II is the second publication from the Axel Vervoordt Gallery dedicated to the life and work of this remarkable Japanese artist.

This monograph was published on the occasion of the artist’s solo exhibition entitled ‘In Pursuit of the Expanse of Nature’ at Axel Vervoordt Gallery that took place at Kanaal from the 14th of September 2024 until 1st of March 2025.

As a sequel to the first volume, this book is merely dedicated to Tanaka’s late work from the 1980s and 1990s.

It contains new essays by Japanese scholars Reiko Tomii and Shigeo Chiba who help to deepen the art world’s knowledge of this artist and his later practice. It also brings an insight to his diary and showcases his unedited sketchbook, made outdoor during his trips in nature and which served as a basis for his later paintings in his studio. This research was made possible thanks to the willingness of the artist’s Estate to open up their archive.

Ryuji Tanaka was a painter who dedicated his life to finding a link between nihonga, traditional Japanese-style painting and avant-garde, international abstraction. Overall, he was looking to evoke the sublime: the vastness of the celestial, the chaos of the cosmos. He had a masterly devotion to nature that he pursued his entire life.

Publishers: Axel Vervoordt Gallery and MER Books, an imprint of Borgerhoff & Lamberigts

Edited in 2024

Hardcover. Japanese binding