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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".

Person TypePerson
Ruth Thorne-Thomsen
American, 1943–2025
Paula Rego
British, born Portugal, 1935–2022
Robert Irwin
American, 1928–2023
Robert Heinecken
American, 1931–2006
Arman
American, born France, 1928–2005
Vera Molnar
French, born Hungary, 1924–2023
Melvin Sokolsky
American, 1933–2022
David Adickes
American, 1927–2025
John Olsen
Australian, 1928–2023
Richard Pettibone
American, 1938–2024
Dóra Maurer
Hungarian, 1937–2026
Pat Steir
American, 1938–2026