Minoru Niizuma - Japanese post-war minimalist sculpture

Minoru Niizuma (Japanese, 1930–1998) was a sculptor best known for his Abstract work in marble. Born in Tokyo, Japan, he studied at the National Toyko University of Fine Arts. Throughout his career, he taught sculpture at the Brooklyn Museum Art School and Columbia University in New York, NY. Niizuma carved marble, stone, granite, and volcanic rock into sculptures that range from strictly geometric to organic forms. He drew inspiration from traditional Japanese Folk Art, fabrics, and ritual vessels. Niizuma’s work is also closely related to the aesthetic of European Minimalist sculpture and Earth Art. He was particularly interested in nature..
Niizuma studied at the Tokyo University of Arts before moving to New York City.  After establishing himself as a prominent sculptor in New York and attending several stone symposiums, Niizuma worked to organize several in Japan.  He organized the Iwate Symposium for several years, inviting many sculptors to complete works in Iwate, Japan. 

Minoru Niizuma

Minoru Niizuma (September 29, 1930 – September 5, 1998) was a Japanese abstract sculptor.
He graduated from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 1955, and from 1954 through 1958 he exhibited with the Modern Art Association. Niizuma moved to New York in 1959, and from 1964 through 1970 he was an instructor at the Brooklyn Museum Art School. From 1972 through 1984, he was adjunct professor at Columbia University. Niizuma worked mostly marble, but also granite, volcanic rock and other materials. His designs would vary from geometric to organic and, sometimes, his references were reminiscent from folk art. His works show the influence of the oriental Asian tradition and the western contemporary art. The Wave's Voice, installed in the Honolulu Museum of Art, is a typical example of his work.
The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Washington, D. C.), the Honolulu Museum of Art and the Mie Prefectural Art Museum (Tsu City, Japan), the Museum of Modern Art (New York City), the National Museum of Modern Art (Tokyo), the Seibu Museum (Tokyo), the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York York City) and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon are among the public collections holding works by Niizuma. He participated in São Miguel Island, Azores, at an international rock sculpture symposium, creating his work "Azores" (1987), in basalt, now shown in Ponta Delgada.Wikipedia