Contemporary Artist

Japan / New York

Risaburo Kimura (Japan, 1924-2014) was a 20th century modernist artist. Kimura is known for his series “Great Cities of the World,” which depicted imaginative abstract and colorful cityscapes through his mastery of serigraph and lithograph printmaking techniques.

Works by Risaburo Kimura

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Venice by Risaburo Kimura

Venice by Risaburo Kimura (Japan, 1924). Contemporary Japanese silkscreen print depicting an abstract interpretation of the city of Venice. From the series "Great Cities of the World". Published on BFK Rives paper by Shorewood Atelier. Signed, titled and numbered in pencil by the artist. Limited edition numbered 15 of 250. Paper mark to bottom right of recto.

Size: 30 1/8" h x 22 1/8" w
Condition: Excellent color and impression. Slight mat line. Slight waviness to paper. Handling marks.

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Tokyo by Risaburo Kimura

Tokyo by Risaburo Kimura (Japan, 1924). Contemporary Japanese silkscreen print depicting an abstract interpretation of the city of Tokyo. From the series "Great Cities of the World". Published on BFK Rives paper by Shorewood Atelier. Signed, titled and numbered in pencil by the artist. Limited edition numbered 64 of 250. Paper seal bottom right.

Size: 30 1/8" h x 22 1/8" w
Condition: Excellent color and impression. Slight waviness to paper. Handling marks. Tape remnants to verso.

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Buenos Aires by Risaburo Kimura

Buenos Aires by Risaburo Kimura (Japan, 1924). Contemporary Japanese abstract silkscreen print depicting an interpretation of the city of Buenos Aires. From the series "Great Cities of the World". Published on BFK Rives paper by Shorewood Atelier. Signed, titled and numbered in pencil by the artist. Limited edition numbered 31 of 250. Paper watermark bottom right.

Size: 30 1/8" h x 22 1/8" w
Condition: Excellent.

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Rio by Risaburo Kimura

Rio by Risaburo Kimura (Japan, 1924).Contemporary Japanese abstract silkscreen print depicting an interpretation of the city of Rio de Janeiro. From the series "Great Cities of the World". Published on BFK Rives paper by Shorewood Atelier. Signed, titled and numbered in pencil by the artist. Limited edition numbered 21 of 250. Paper watermark bottom right.

Size: 30 1/8" h x 22 1/8" w
Condition: Excellent.

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Hong Kong by Risaburo Kimura

Hong Kong by Risaburo Kimura (Japan, 1924). Contemporary Japanese abstract silkscreen print depicting an interpretation of the city of Hong Kong. From the series "Great Cities of the World". Published on BFK Rives paper by Shorewood Atelier as noted on verso. Signed, titled and numbered in pencil by the artist. Limited edition numbered 214 of 250. Paper watermark bottom right.

Size: 30 1/8" h x 22 1/8" w
Condition: Excellent.

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City 139 by Risaburo Kimura

City 139 by Risaburo Kimura. Original serigraph on heavy white archival paper. Signed and dated by the artist in pencil. Limited edition numbered 1 of 25.  

Size: 22 1/2" h x 17 1/2 w
Condition: Good. Some yellowing at top of paper. Evidence of tape marks at top corners and bottom left.

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Prague by Risaburo Kimura

Prague by Risaburo Kimura. Original Japanese silkscreen print from the Great Cities of the World series. Pencil signed by artist in bottom margin. Limited edition numbered 147 of 250. Excellent color, condition and impression.

Size: 30.3" h x 22.1" w
Condition: Excellent

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City 310 by Risaburo Kimura

City 310 by Risaburo Kimura. Dates to 1975. Limited edition numbered 14 of 50. Pencil signed and titled by the artist. Prophetic mixed media serigraph which can be interpreted as a collapse of New York's Twin Towers.

Condition: Good. There is a small scratch at the top within the image, as well as some creases in the paper.

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Paris by Risaburo Kimura

Paris by Risaburo Kimura. Original Japanese silkscreen print from the Great Cities of the World series. Pencil signed by artist in bottom margin. Limited edition numbered 192 of 250. Excellent color, condition and impression. Print measures 30.3 x 22.1 inches.

Size: 30.3" h x 22.1" w
Condition: Very Good

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Florence by Risaburo Kimura

Florence by Risaburo Kimura.  Original Japanese silkscreen print from the Great Cities of the World series. Pencil titled, and signed by artist, in bottom marign. Limited edition numbered 273 of 275. Strong color, condition and impression.

Size: 21 1/2" h x 17 1/8" w
Condition: Good. Paper has some discoloration due to light exposure.

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London by Risaburo Kimura

London by Risaburo Kimura. Original Japanese silkscreen print from the Great Cities of the World series. Pencil titled, and signed by artist, in bottom margin. Limited edition numbered 26 of 275.

Size: 26" h x 22" w
Condition: Very good.

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Moscow A.P. by Risaburo Kimura

Moscow by Risaburo Kimura. Original Japanese silkscreen print from the Great Cities of the World series. Pencil A.P. titled, and signed by artist, in bottom margin. Very good condition. Print measures 30.3 x 22.1 inches. Print has not been framed and retains original colors.

Size: 30.3" h x 22.1" w
Condition: Excellent

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Bangkok by Risaburo Kimura

Bangkok by Risaburo Kimura. Original Japanese silkscreen print from the Great Cities of the World series. Pencil signed by artist in bottom margin. Limited edition numbered 192 of 250. Excellent color, condition and impression. Print measures 30.3 x 22.1 inches.

Size: 30.3" h x 22.1" w
Condition: Excellent

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Berlin by Risaburo Kimura

Berlin by Risaburo Kimura. Original Japanese silkscreen print from the Great Cities of the World series. Limited edition out of 250. Pencil signed and numbered by the artist. Dates to 1973.

Size: 22" w x 30" h
Condition: Below Average. Multiple creases.

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City 358 by Risaburo Kimura

This is a hand signed serigraph by Risaburo Kimura titled "City 358".  Published in 1972. Beautiful art piece on BFK Rives paper. Hand signed and numbered by the artist. This piece is numbered from an edition of 300. Comes unframed.

Size: Paper measures 22.5" x 28.5". Image measures 19.5" x 25".
Condition: Mint.

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New Orleans by Risaburo Kimura

Artist Signed Serigraph. 50/275 signed and numbered in pencil, with watermark.

"New Orleans" is by the very well-known listed Japanese artist, Risaburo Kimura, who is famous for his cityscapes and modern, pop art style. 

Kimura's work has steadily gained the recognition of art connoisseurs the world over. His form and color combine for startling and primitive effects. This serigraph displays the diverse colors, forms and moods typical of Kimura’s style as well as his idiosyncratic notion of the essential nature of this city. Most sought-after are his prints of major US cities like this one, a characteristically brilliantly colored abstract print of New Orleans. Major colors are blue, yellow, red, orange.

Previously framed and matted. Slight crease on edge where the mat would have been and a light stain or smudge.

Size: 22.1" h x 19.5" w
Condition: Good

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Madrid A.P. by Risaburo Kimura

Madrid by Risaburo Kimura.  Original Japanese silkscreen print from the Great Cities of the World series. Pencil A.P. titled, and signed by artist, in bottom marign. Fine color, condition and impression. Print measures 30.3 x 22.1 inches. Print has not been framed and retains original colors.

Size: 30.3" h x 22.1" w
Condition: Excellent

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Paris A.P. by Risaburo Kimura

Paris by Risaburo Kimura.  Original Japanese silkscreen print from the Great Cities of the World series. Pencil A.P. titled, and signed by artist, in bottom margin. Very good condition. Print measures 30.3 x 22.1 inches. Print has not been framed and retains original colors.

Size: 30.3" h x 22.1" w
Condition: Excellent

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Untitled Abstract City by Risaburo Kimura work no longer available

Untitled Abstract City by Risaburo Kimura (Japan, 1924-2014). Beautiful contemporary print by well known Japanese / American artist. Utilizes an explosion of color to capture the energy of the city.

Large format screenprint. Pencil signed and titled by the artist. Dated 1974.

Size: 18" 1/2 h x 25 1/2" w (image), 22" h x 28 3/10" w (paper)
Condition: Very good.

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City 97 by Risaburo Kimura work no longer available

An original Risaburo Kimura titled "City 97". Color silkscreen. Published and signed in a small edition in Hamburg, Germany by Griffelkunst Association in 1974 numbered & signed in the bottom margin with pencil.

Size: 19.68" x 25.59"
Condition: Mint

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City 364 by Risaburo Kimura work no longer available

This is a hand signed serigraph by Risaburo Kimura titled "City 364".  Published in 1972. Beautiful art piece on BFK Rives paper. Hand signed and numbered by the artist. This piece is numbered from an edition of 300. 

Size: Paper measures 28.5" x 22.5". Image measures 25" x 19.5".
Condition: Mint

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City 381 by Risaburo Kimura work no longer available

This is a hand signed serigraph by Risaburo Kimura titled "City 381". Published in 1972. Beautiful art piece on BFK Rives paper.  Hand signed and numbered by the artist. This piece is numbered from an edition of 300. Unframed.

Size: Paper measures 22.5" x 28.5". Image measures 19.5" x 25".
Condition: Mint.

Biography

print biography

Risaburo Kimura (Japan, 1924-2014) was a 20th century modernist artist. Kimura is known for his series “Great Cities of the World,” which depicted imaginative abstract and colorful cityscapes through his mastery of serigraph and lithograph printmaking techniques.

Risaburo Kimura was born in 1924 in Yokosuka City in the region of Kanagawa, Japan. In 1947, Kimura received a degree in education at Yokohama University. In 1954, he attended Hosei University in Tokyo and received a degree in philosophy. At Hosei University, Kimura studied under artist Tetsuzo Tanikawa (1895-1989) and aspired to have a career as an art critic. However, Kimura decided to change directions and take on painting. However, the young painter soon met artist Teijiro Kubo and Masuo Ikeda (1934-1997), learning various printmaking methods.

A master of serigraph, Kimura was a pivotal artist in revitalizing the traditional Japanese methods of printmaking. Serigraphy is a technique of silkscreen printing - seri, which is Latin for “silk,” and graphos, translated from Greek for “writing.” Serigraph printmaking became popularized after American and British pop and modern artists produced large-scale work using the contemporary technique.

In 1964, Kimura moved to New York and established a print studio in Manhattan. Around this time, the artist embarked on his most well-known series, “Great Cities of the World,” which included 400 different depictions and scenes of developed cities. The cities that he rendered were imagined fictional cities with some elements, and even titles, of existing cities around the world. Kimura used an array of bright colors and combined serigraph and lithograph printmaking techniques to achieve depth in each image. Kimura’s images showed abstracted and reduced shapes to form the architectural depictions. The series took Kimura a little over three years to complete because he drew and cut each image himself.   

Risaburo Kimura showed his work in many international exhibitions at institutions like the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Brooklyn Museum, Guggenheim Museum in New York, and the National Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto, Japan. He also exhibited his work at the Print Biennale of Tokyo and at various print festivals in Paris, Brazil, Italy, Belgium, and Mexico City.

Risaburo Kimura passed away in New York in 2014. His work can be found in numerous collections and major museums worldwide including the Philadelphia Art Museum, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), The Brooklyn Museum, I.B.M. World Trade Corporations Headquarters in New York, Cincinnati Art Museum, La Tertulia Museum in Colombia, National Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto, and the Kyoto City Hall in Japan.