Fumio Nambada, who showed extraordinary talent early on but did not fit into the existing art education system and sought his own unique expression, passed away in 1974 at the young age of 32, leaving behind more than 2000 works including watercolors, drawings, and oil paintings.

In this exhibition, we will show a selection of his early works that seem to express his internal conflicts, including the watercolor “Television,” the “Olympics” series of pen drawings made around the time of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the “Sea” series of oil paintings made after 1970 that express in unique colors a mysterious world where the sea, sky, and figures seem to merge into one, the “Paintings of the World” series of oil paintings that express the theme of life and death, and the “Paintings of the World” series of oil paintings made in 1975. The “Dream” series of watercolor paintings, which were painted in the last period of his life, are also on display.

Please feel the footprints of Fumio Nambada's contemplation and exploration throughout his life.


When I strike a point
My consciousness
up and down, left and right.
Changing within the delicate melody of music
I follow the sound-like shapes that change within the delicate melody of the music
I embark on a journey of lines

(from a poem by Fumio Nambada)