- Since
the early
seventies, Kenjilo
Nanao has been a
quiet force in the
San Francisco Bay
Area school of art
(as distinct from
the New York
school).
-
- Kenji
first became known
for his delicate,
surreal, and
sometimes erotic
lithograph still
lifes with finely
graded grounds of,
color reminiscent
of Japanese
Shunga
prints. Although
lithography had
been his medium of
choice since his
student days with
Nathan Oliviera,
in the early
eighties he began
to focus more
attention on
painting.
Interestingly, the
larger scale and
more direct
approach attending
the new medium
seemed to inspire
an equally
dramatic shift in
style. "Even
though I had been
dealing with a
figurative subject
(in the prints),
my concern was
with an abstract
message," he
said.
-
- And
that realization
led to a
re-examination of
his understanding
of the tenets of
abstract
expressionism. The
result has been to
bridge the
apparent semantic
ambiguity between,
say, Rothko's idea
of "equivalence"
in abstract forms
and the
metaphorical
"message"
contained within
them. That is,
each is both
equivalence and a
metaphor for the
other, a joining
of plastic and
metaphorical
imagery which
Nanao calls "a
state of elegant
confusion."
-
- But
if confused, it is
not obvious. His
paintings are
elegant, his
message eloquent.
His facility with
the medium and the
aesthetic flowing
from it embraces
both the Japanese
and American
heritages of which
it is born.
Kenji's work
represents a rare
level of
sophistication in
all
respects.
GalleryGuide.org,
October
1999
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Kenjilo
Nanao
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- Born:
1929
- Aomori,
Japan
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- Education
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- San
Francisco Art
Institute
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- Tamarind
Institute
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x
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Archives
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- One-Person Exhibitions
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2013
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"A Tribute Exhibition"
Elins
Eagles-Smith Gallery
San Francisco, California
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2011
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"Pacific Paintings"
Triton Museum of Art
Santa Clara, California
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2011
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"The Roots of a Painter"
Elins
Eagles-Smith Gallery
San Francisco, California
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2009
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Elins
Eagles-Smith Gallery
San Francisco, California
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2008
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Art Foundary Gallery
Sacramento, California
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2006
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Elins
Eagles-Smith Gallery
San Francisco, California
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2005
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Gallery 3A
Kyoto, Japan
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2005
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Art Forum JARFO
Kyoto, Japan
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2005
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Yougen Gallery
Tokyo, Japan
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2004
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"Retrospective Exhibition"
Aomori Prefectural Museum
Aomori, Japan
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2004
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Gallery Dionisi
West Hollywood, California
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2003
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Elins
Eagles-Smith Gallery
San Francisco, California
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2001
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Durka Chang Gallery
San Francisco, California
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- 1999
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- Brookings Gallery
San Francisco, California
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- Smith Andersen Gallery
Palo Alto, California
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- 1998
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- Smith Andersen Gallery
Palo Alto, California
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- Brookings Gallery
San Francisco, California
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- 1998
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San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Rental Gallery
San Francisco, California
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- Aomori Gallery
Aomori, Japan
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Don Soker Contemporary Art
San Francisco, California
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- Dubins Gallery
Los Angeles, California
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Sun Gallery
Hayward, California
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Smith Andersen Gallery
Palo Alto, California
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Dubins Gallery
Los Angeles, California
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Eva Cohen Gallery
Chicago, Illinois
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Dubins Gallery
Los Angeles, California
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Don Soker Gallery
San Francisco, California
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Dubins Gallery
Los Angeles, California
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Dubins Gallery
Los Angeles, California
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Osaka Formes Gallery
Tokyo, Japan
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Aomori Gallery
Aomori, Japan
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Gallery Huntley Canbera
Campbell, Australia
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Smith Andersen Gallery
Palo Alto, California
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Richmond Art Center
Richmond, California
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Smith Andersen Gallery
Palo Alto, California
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Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts
Palace of the Legion of Honor
San Francisco, California
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Santa Barbara Museum of Art
Santa Barbara, California
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Smith Andersen Gallery
Palo Alto, California
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Tsubaki Kindai Gallery
Tokyo, Japan
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Brooklyn Museum Art School
Brooklyn, New York
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Residencies
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2004
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Aomori Contemporary Art Centre
Aomori, Japan
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2004
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Tamarind Lithography Workshop
Albuquerque, New Mexico
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2003
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Tom Blaess Printshop
Berne, Switzerland
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- Group
Exhibitions
- (Selected)
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2018
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"Way Bay"
Berkeley Art Museum
Berkeley, California
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2010
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"Small Treasures"
Elins
Eagles-Smith Gallery
San Francisco, California
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2008
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"Paralel Lines"
Works on paper from Monterey County Collections
Hartnell College Gallery, Salnas, California
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- 2003
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- Smith-Anderson
Gallery
Palo Alto, California
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- 2003
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- American
Academy of Arts and Letters Invitational
Exhibition
New York, New York
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- 1997
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- San Francisco Museum of Art Rental
Gallery
San Francisco, California
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- The Old 'New' Garde
J.J. Brookings Gallery
San Francisco, California
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- 16 California Artists, Galerie Show
Tokyo,
Japan
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- 1992
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- Directions in Bay Area Printmaking
Cutural Center, Palo Alto, California
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- "Then & Now", Jeremy Stone Gallery
San Francisco, California
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- Landscape Visions, Office of the
Chancellor
California State University Long Beach
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- 1983
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National Invitational Exhibition
University of Hawaii at Hilo
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- 1981
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7th University of Dallas, National Print
Invitational
University of Dallas, Dallas, Texas
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- 1981
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"Beyond Words", San Jose Institute of
Contemporary Art
San Jose, California
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- 1980
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First Prize, California: Printmaking &
Paper
Reese Bullen Gallery, Humbolt State
College
Humbolt, California
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" The Colored Print", Crocker Art Museum
Sacramento, California
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Grabdores Norte Americanos, Museo de Arte
Moderno
La Tutuila, Colombia, South America
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Eight West Coast Printmakers, Brooklyn
Museum
Brooklyn, New York
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New Faces in Printmaking, Marjorie
Kauthman Graphics
Houston, Texas
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"Night Landscapes", Oakland Museum of Art
Oakland, California
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The 20th National Print Exhibition, , The
Brooklyn Museum
New York, New York
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Tenth Intemational Biennial Exhibition of
Prints
Anchorage Historical and Fine Arts Museum
Anchorage, Alaska
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24th National Exhibition of Prints
Library of Congress, Washington D.C.
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New Talent in Printmaking, Associated
American Artists
New York, New York
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Modern Printmaking, Rochester Institute of
Technology
Rochester, New York
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West Coast, Printmakers Show, Van Straatan
Gallery
Chicago, Illinois
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California Exhibit, Linda Parris Gallery
Seattle, Washington
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The Philadelphia Print Club Show
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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Twenty-Third Library of Congress Show
Washington, D.C.
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Second Hawaii National Print Exhibition
Honolulu Academy of Art, Hawaii
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San Francisco Area Printmakers
Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, Ohio
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Purchase Prize
Eighteen National Print Show, Brooklyn
Museum of Art
Brooklyn, New York
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" Realism - 1972", Contemporary Gallery
Dallas, Texas
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California Printmakers, Palace of thc
Legion of Honor
San Prancisco, California
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Gump's Gallery
San Francisco, California
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Felix Landau Gallery
Los Angeles, California
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Purchase Prize
Deca Lithographers, San Francisco Art
Festival
San Francisco, California
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Northwest Printmakers' 39th International
Exhibition
Seattle Art Museum
Seattle, Washington
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The Printer's Art, San Francisco Museum of
Art
San Francisco, California
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- Grants
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- National
Endowment for thc Arts
Individual
Fellowship for Emerging Artist
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- Ford Foundation
Grant, Tamarind Lithography
Workshop
Los Angeles, California
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- Awards
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- First
Prize
California:
Printmaking & Paper: A Survey
Reese Bullen
Gallery, State College
Humbolt ,
California
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4 Purchase Prizes
Honolulu Academy of Arts
Honolulu, Hawaii
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Purchase Prize
City of Philadelphia for the Library of
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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Purchase Prize
Brooklyn Museum of Art
Brooklyn, New York
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- Commissions
- (Selected)
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Painting, Red
Canyon, Royal Park Sapporo Hotel
Sapporo,
Japan
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- Edition of 100
Prints, Art Source
San Francisco,
California
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A Suite of 5 Images, Edition of 60 Prints
New Leaf Publisher
Walnut Creek, California
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Edition of 60 Prints, Associated American
Artists
New York, New York
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Edition of 20 Prints, City of San
Francisco
San Francisco, California
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- x
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- Public
Collections
- (Selected)
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Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
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San Jose Mueum of Art, San Jose, CA
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Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA.
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Biblioteque
National, Paris, France
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Cincinnati
Museum of Art, Cincinnati, Ohio
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- Honolulu Academu of Art, Honolulu, Hawaii
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Achenbach Foundation for Graphics
Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, CA
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Kenwood Vineyards, Sonoma, CA
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- Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY
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- City of San Francisco, CA
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Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
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Pasadena Art Museum, Pasadena, CA
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Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles, CA
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Monterey Museum of Art, Monterey, CA
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Grunewald Collection, Univcrsity of California Westwood, CA
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Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY
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Minnesota Museum of Art, St. Paul,
Minnesota
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Library of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
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Oakland Museum, Oakland, CA
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National Gallery of Art, Washington,
D.C.
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Royal Park Sapporo Hotel, Sapporo,
Japan
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De Saisset Museum, University of Santa Clara, Santa Clara, CA
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Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, Monterey, CA
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BELCORP USA, San Francisco, CA
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Aomori Prefectural Museum, Aomori, Japan
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Aomori Museum of Art, Aomori, Japan
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