Shoji Tanaka

Shoji Tanaka



Shoji Tanaka was born 1957 in Toyama, Japan. From 1977 he spent three years living and studying in France. It was here that he met his future wife Seiko.

He finds inspiration and influences from the literature of Edgar Allan Poe. After discovering the Vienna School of Fantastic Realism, he then commenced researching classical painting techniques. Shoji seeks to expand the “Ganzfeld Gemeinshaft” as a successor of the Surrealist movement since 1991. He has also organized many exhibitions and experimental theatre. In 2006 he went on to found the International Fantastic Art Association, which has thus far staged international exhibitions throughout Japan and in France. Through his own personal efforts, the group sponsored a number of artists to travel to Japan to exhibit with them. He continues to serve as its representative.

In 2008 he travelled to Europe again to meet and exhibit with the Society for the Art of Imagination. It was here that the two groups decided that they would form a co-operative relationship and become sister groups.

Seeking a more focused and specialised exhibition platform, Shoji then created his own exhibition project called L’Art Genso. Through this project, Shoji has hosted a number of exhibitions in France with high profile artists such as H.R. Giger, Gerard Di Maccio and Claude Verlinde.

His paintings draw upon images from the Middle Ages, while also re-interpreting various sources of literature. His view is that the present contains the past simultaneously. He has no need to be the follower of passing fashions, and thus seeks a more timeless expression.



Education
Bachelor Degree in Painting from Fine Art Faculty, Silpakorn University