Atsushi Uemura

Atsushi Uemura was born in Kyoto in 1933.  He was born into one of Japan’s most distinguished artistic families: his father was the celebrated Nihonga painter Shoko Uemura, and his grandmother was the renowned artist Shoen Uemura.

Biography

• 1953 Entered the Department of Japanese Painting at Kyoto Municipal College of Fine Arts.
• 1968 Selected for the first time for the Shinseisaku Association Exhibition.
• 1984 Appointed Professor at Kyoto City University of Arts.
• 1994 Became the founding director of the Shohaku Art Museum.
• 1995 Received the Japan Art Academy Prize.
• 2002 Elected Member of the Japan Art Academy.
• 2013 Designated a Person of Cultural Merit by the Japanese government.
• 2020 Awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon.
• 2022 Awarded the Order of Culture. His grandmother Shoen and father Shoko had also received the Order of Culture, making the Uemura family one of the few families in Japan to achieve this distinction across three generations.

Widely regarded as the foremost master of bird-and-flower painting in contemporary Nihonga, Uemura has inherited and developed the artistic legacy of the Uemura family while establishing a unique vision of his own. For decades, he has personally raised and observed more than a thousand birds, studying their movements, habits, and individual characteristics with extraordinary dedication.

From this lifelong observation emerges a body of work distinguished by its elegance, purity, and profound sensitivity to nature. His paintings transcend simple representation, capturing the quiet dignity, grace, and spiritual beauty of birds. Through refined composition, delicate color harmonies, and a deep understanding of the natural world, Uemura creates poetic images that celebrate the enduring relationship between humanity and nature.

This exhibition presents a selection of works that embody the artist’s lifelong devotion to birds, inviting viewers into a serene and luminous world where nature is observed with both scientific precision and heartfelt reverence.