Rikizo Fukao

Rikizo Fukao (b. 1946) was raised in Tokyo but moved to Europe in 1971. A self-taught artist, he began painting while employed at the International Labor Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1975, the year he began exhibiting his work, his paintings were shown in five exhibitions, but he resisted becoming a full-time artist until 1981. After working for many years in Paris, Rikizo felt the need to return to his Japanese roots. He is currently based between Paris and Kyoto.

Rikizo's practice is strongly grounded in the Japanese tradition. His paintings resemble distorted versions of kanji, or Japanese calligraphy. He works in a tightly restricted colour palette: his works are painted exclusively in unmodulated tones of black, red, blue, and green.

His works have been exhibited widely in Europe and Japan since 1975, and his paintings have hung in the British Museum and in the historic Kodaji Temple in Kyoto.