Chozaburo Inoue

Born in Kobe, he spent his youth in Dalian, China before moving to Tokyo to study at the Pacific Painting Society Institute. He lived in an area where the studio village culture of “Ikebukuro Montparnasse” flourished. Before the war, he exhibited his paintings influenced by Fauvism and Surrealism mainly at the Independent Art Association Exhibition and the Art and Culture Association Exhibition. Some of his works during the war were considered too pessimistic and were withdrawn from exhibitions.
Even during an era which was dominated by war paintings, he formed the New Artists' Association in 1943 with fellow painters Aimitsu, Matsumoto Shunsuke, Itozono Wasaburo, and others, and held exhibitions. Its aim was to create opportunities for independent expressive activities even during the war.
After the war, he joined the Free Artists' Association, creating paintings which depicted events such as the Vietnam War, as well as unique satirical paintings of members of the Diet in ceremonial dress. He passed away in Chiba Prefecture at the age of 89.