生誕100年 歿後20年
相原求一朗の軌跡 ―大地への挑戦―

100th anniversary of birth, 20th anniversary of death
Trajectory of Kyuichiro Aihara ―Challenge to the Earth―

The year 2018 marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of the painter Kyuichiro Aihara (1918-99), who continued to depict the nature of Hokkaido, and 2019 marks the 20th anniversary of his death. In this commemorative year, we will hold a large-scale exhibition of the works by Kyuichiro Aihara, touring three venues in the country.

Kyuichiro Aihara was born in 1918 (Taisho 7) in a house that ran a wholesale business in Kawagoe. Although he liked painting as a boy, he once gave up on an art career because he was the eldest son. However, he continued to paint on his own, while being engaged in the family business. While he experienced a five-year military service, due to wartime conscription, the vast land of Manchuria where he spent four and a half years, overlapping with his adolescent sensibility, became the original scenery which would affect his later paintings. After the war, time spent studying as a modernist painter under Gen-ichiro Inokuma in 1948 (Showa 23) opened up a career as a painter for Aihara. Since then, having the Shinseisaku Association as a base, he painted the nature of Hokkaido in a lyrical style, a reminiscience of Manchuria in monochrome tones.

In this exhibition, we will reminisce about Aihara's paintings with approximately 75 works, by adding loved pieces and drawings to representative works from the beginning of his career to the end. We hope that many of you will understand the intriguing charm of Aihara’s art.

The exhibition, which started in his birthplace, Kawagoe City, last December, will tour to Hokkaido, the land of the north, which became a lifetime theme for the artist, with the final exhibition at the Wakita Museum of Art in Karuizawa.

This museum was built in 1991 as a space to collect and exhibit the works of Kazu Wakita (1908-2005). Wakita, who is representative of modern Western-style painters, established the Shinseisaku Group Association (currently the Shinseisaku Association) with Gen-ichiro Inokuma and Ryohei Koiso, in 1936 after returning from Berlin. Kyuichiro Aihara was awarded his first prize at the 14th Shinseisaku Group Association Exhibition in 1950, making his debut in the painting world. This exhibition at the Museum of Art of Kazu Wakita, to whom he looked up as his mentor since that time, can be a blessing for Kyuichiro Aihara.

Exhibition Overview	100th anniversary of birth, 20th anniversary of death Trajectory of Kyuichiro Aihara―Challenge to the Earth Profile
Period	June 2 (Sun) through July 15 (Mon/holiday), 2019 Open throughout the exhibition period
Hours	10:00 am to 5:00 pm (Admission is closed 30 minutes before closing)
Venue	Wakita Museum of Art 1570-4, Kyudo, Karuizawa-machi, Nagano Pref. 389-0102 TEL: 0267-42-2639 FAX: 0267-42-0071 Access
Admission	General: 1,000 yen (900 yen) High school & university students: 600 yen (500 yen) （ ）is group rate of 20 people or more Please inquire for other discounts.
Organized by	100th Anniversary Project of the birth of Kyuichiro Aihara The Shinano Mainichi Shimbum Inc. ,
Supported by	Nagano Prefectural Government Nagano Prefectural Board of Education Karuizawa Town Karuizawa Town Board of Education SHIN-ETSU Broadcasting Co.,Ltd. Nagano Broadcasting Systems,Inc., TSB TV. Shinshu Broadcasting Co.,Ltd abn Asahi Broadcasting Nagano Co.,Ltd.
Works introduced on HP	1) Fishing Port in Sever Winter, 1977: oil: 162.3×162.0cm 2) Mt. Asama in March, 1993: oil: 91.0×116.7cm 3) Heaven and Earth in Silence, 1994: oil: 80.5×130.3cm Owned by：AOKI Holdings