‘Théâtre de la Renaissance’ by Kojiro Akagi (1934-2021)

‘Théâtre de la Renaissance’ by Kojiro Akagi (1934-2021) is a screenprint, made in 1977 and printed at the Atelier del Arco in an Edition size of 35 on Arches paper, 65 x 50cm.

Born in 1934 in Japan, Kojiro Akagi arrived in Paris in 1963 and enrolled at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. From the very start, he fell in love with the city. He would set up his easel wherever his walks took him, exploring every arrondissement and depicting it in all its facets: iconic monuments, building facades, historic neighbourhoods… Kojiro Akagi would thus become, without a doubt, the most Parisian of Japanese artists.

His images of Paris are instantly recognizable for their uniqueness: a rigorous observation of architecture and space, and a style elevated by thick, raised lines in red or white.

Kojiro Akagi never stopped painting ‘his city’ until his very last breath. He passed away in 2021, leaving behind several hundred works around the world for posterity. Some have already found their way into prestigious collections such as those of the Royal Ueno Museum in Tokyo and the Musée Carnavalet in Paris.