On Kawara
On Kawara
American, born Japan, 1933
Birth placeKariya, Japan
BiographyOn Kawara (born 1933) is a Japanese conceptual artist.He settled in New York City in 1965. He has shown in many solo and group exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale in 1976.
Since 1966 he has made a long series of "date paintings" (the Today series), which consist entirely of the date on which the painting was executed in simple white lettering set against a solid background. Other series of works include the I Went and I Met series of postcards sent to his friends detailing aspects of his life, another series of postcards, I Got Up At, rubber-stamped with the time he got up that morning, and a series of telegrams sent to various people bearing the message "I AM STILL ALIVE".
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