Teppei Sasakura | 笹倉鉄平
Teppei Sasakura is a contemporary Japanese print maker whose commericial illustrations drip rich with colours and details. What strikes most in his art is the vividity of life. Most paintings are based on outdoor scenery, usually portraits of cosy towns, children playing or waterfront cities. There's an ubiquitous 'cosiness' embedded in his work and the luxurious colours are simply eye ravishing. There's very little online English resources I could find but heck, who's interested in reading textual stuff. Still, I stole (actually, 'rephrased' is the word) the translated biography from his official site, just so you know a little about his coming as an artist.
Contents >> Biography | GALLERY | What is Printmaking?| Teppei NET
Brief Biography adapted from his official website
[http://www.teppei.net/12_english_page.htm]
It says there "Please do not quote or reproduce text on a website." I do respect that but I wonder how the hell I'm going to write an introduction without quoting bits and pieces from it. That's impossible for someone totally illiterate in Japanese, like me. The English translation is my only life saviour. Sorry about any infringement of copyrights.
Teppei Sasakura is a Japanese artist born in Hyogo Perfecture. He graduated from the Commercial Design Department of Musashino University of Art and became an illustrator after some experience working as a graphic designer. In 1980, he went freelance and produced over 200 illustrations mainly for Morinaga & Co. Ltd during a period of 10 years. Below is a list of major exhibitions/works.For complete listing, you can refer to the source.
1987 - 'Romantic Gallery', a monthly installment featured in 'Mainichi Newspaper' and the illustrations were based on towns of the Romantic Highway in Southern Germany.
1988 - 'Romantic Colored Streets", also a monthly installment in 'Mainichi Newspaper'. It features French towns.
1990 - 1st solo exhibition in Spiral Gallery in Aoyama, Tokyo. This marks the start of his career as an independent artist.
1991 - 1st serigraph 'Cadaques'. Participant of the Los Angeles Art Expo.
1992 - Produced 'Utrecht' for Flriade/1992 in Netherlands, which was also showcased in the New York Art Expo.
1994 - Art Exhibition in Daimaru, Kobe.
1996 - Major art exhibitions in Odakyu Department Stores, Shinjuku. Solo exhibition in many other places.
1997 - CD-ROM 'The Art of Teppei Sasakura' which received favourable reviews. Held solo exhibition in many stores.
1998 - 'Wing of Heart', commemorating the completion of the rebuilding project of Fuji Television Network/Nippon Broadcasting Co's head office building. First solo exhibition at 'Daimaru Museum Tokyo' and across many other stores.
2000 - Established Sasakura Teppei Office: Art Terrace Inc., dealing mainly with prints.
2001 - The work 'Blessing' became official entry of Italy, Firenze, Japan Cultural and Economic Exchange Association. Held major exhibitions in Tokyo and Osaka.
2002 - Published 'Teppei Sasakura all prints collection 1991 - 2002' in Sep., and also a DVD titled 'The Art World of Teppei Sasakura' in Nov. Held major exhibition at 'Daimaru Museum Tokyo'.
2004 - Published 'The Poem & Art Works of Teppei Sasakura ~ In the Gentle Season ~'. Held first overseas solo exhibition at Firenze in Italy.
2005 - Solo exhibition at Firenze in Italy.