In Memoriam Mitsuko Tabe Exhibition

Mitsuko Tabe ended her life at the age of 91 on March 6 th 2024. More than one month later after I heard of her death for the first time, it was officially reported in the newspaper. Apparenty her last moment were calm and peaceful even though she had led the avant - garde art scene in Fukuoka, worked in the front-line and devoted herself to live as an artist throughout entire her life.

When was the last time we met? Our relationship began in 2012. We luckily had five solo exhibitions of her works at the Mizoe Art Gallery. She always attempted new challenges and I used to be overwhelmed by her energy. After her solo exhibition in 2017, I saw her less and less frequently due to her age and health. Furthermore, the world pandemic didn’t allow us to have further meetings.

In 2022, when I saw the exhibition “Mitsuko Tabe: We Cannot Give Up Hope” at the Fukuoka Art Museum, I realised how little I had truly understood her. From her days with the Kyushu-ha group onward, she focused on a wide range of social and gender issues as an artist. At the exhibition, I was able to see her real perspectives including her deep inner conflicts and I also saw how she survived and worked as an artist.

What kind of gallerist I had been to her? While I was sorting out her remaining art works in her empty studio, I also questioned myself whether I had the right to do so. However, at the same time, it made me think that I should spread what she has done to the public as part of my mission. This is the reason why I planned this exhibition. We cannot fully define her - neither “Kyushu-ha,” nor “avant-garde,” nor “feminism”. The journey of pursuing Mitsuko Tabe has only just begun.

Mizoe Art Gallery
Kazunobu Abe

Talk event🍎
On Saturday 9th May from 3pm-
Speakers:
-Chizuru Kawanami ( Independent curator )

“When I met her for the first time, I was in my mid-twenties and just employed as the second female curator in Fukuoka. Every time when I saw her, I was inspired and overwhelmed by her passion.
She said to me ‘You should become a director at a museum!’ although it didn’t happen in the end.
Nowadays, many female curators are working across Japan and female art critics have been reappraised. I hope it is getting closer to the world Ms.Tabe was dreamed of.



Mitsuko Tabe – Chronology
1933 – Born in Taiwan under Japanese rule; relocated to Fukuoka after World War II.
1953 – Joined Iwataya Department Store and studied drawing in the painting department.
1957 – Participated as a founding member of the avant-garde art group Kyushu-ha.
1974 – Organized the 1st Kyushu Women Artists Exhibition (continued up to the 12th edition).
1988 – Declared “Housewife Retirement.”
1994 – Held her first solo exhibition in New York
(subsequently held nine solo exhibitions in New York, Washington D.C., and Paris).
1997 – Published Shutai Geijutsu (Hana Shoin).
2000 – Received the 25th Fukuoka City Cultural Award.
2001 – Published Nisen-nen no Ringo: Watashi no Datsu Geijutsuron (Nishinippon Shimbun).
2003 – Kyushu Power – Kyushu as World Art (Contemporary Art Museum Kumamoto).
2005 – The Secret of the Apple (Hiroshima Museum of Art)
Women in the Avant-Garde 1950–1975 (Tochigi Prefectural Museum of Fine Arts).
2013 – Mitsuko Tabe: Life as Art (Fukuoka Art Museum, Special Exhibition Room).
2015 – Opened TMT ART PROJECT: 3-Chome Art School.
2016 – Received the 24th Fukuoka Prefecture Cultural Award.
2022 – Mitsuko Tabe: We Cannot Abandon Hope (Fukuoka Art Museum, Contemporary Art Rooms A & B).
March 6, 2024 – Passed away at age 91.
2025 – Anti-Action: Their Individual Responses and Challenges (The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo)
For the Placards (The National Museum of Art, Osaka).