Born in São Paulo to a Japanese immigrant family, Lydia Okumura's interest in art was awakened by her father, a trained calligrapher. She attended a Japanese school in Brazil, merging two distinct cultural influences that resonate in her work, and received her first solo gallery exhibition at the age of 19. As part of the collective Equipe3, along with Genilson Soares and Francisco Iñarra, Okumura was invited to participate in the 1973 São Paulo Biennial, for which they created the site-specific abstract environment Points of View. This formative early installation was a precursor to her sustained investigation of the intersections between two- and three-dimensional space, creating precise geometric illusions using modest materials such as paint, string, wire mesh and glass.
At the urging of American art critic Gregory Battock, Okumura moved to New York in 1974, where she attended the Pratt Graphics Center and collaborated on one of Sol LeWitt's Minimalist wall drawings, to which her own works have been compared. Perhaps indirectly influenced by the Concrete and Neo-Concrete movements in her native Brazil, her work traces a trajectory of abstraction in Latin America and shows certain similarities to early works by Waldemar Cordeiro, Lygia Pape or Hélio Oiticica. As critic Ricardo Sardenberg argues, 'By drawing from these sources, Okumura breathes life back into the often cold and cerebral aesthetic of Minimalist art.'
In New York, Okumura began creating her 'Situations' by painting directly on walls, connecting geometric shapes with pieces of string and graphite lines that result in deceptively simple optical illusions. She once described geometry as 'an intelligent type of drawing', and the strings connecting the painted shapes function as drawn lines in space, giving them the appearance of volume while their cast shadows add a further layer of visual complexity. As the artist explains, 'I longed to combine the idea of dimensions – from three-dimensional to flat surfaces – to multi-dimensions perceptible by the mind.'
Okumura participated in five São Paulo Biennials between 1973 and 1984, as well as numerous gallery and institutional exhibitions across the US and Latin America. Her work was shown in an important solo exhibition at the Museu de Arte Moderna, São Paulo in 1984 and, more recently, was the subject of a touring US retrospective in 2016. Lydia Okumura: Situations started at UB Art Galleries in Buffalo, travelling to Weber State University in Utah and the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art in Arizona.
2020
Lydia Okumura, Galeria Jaqueline Martins, São Paulo, Brazil
2019
Lydia Okumura: Volume '84, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, London, UK
Lydia Okumura: Dimensions, Galeria Nuno Centeno, Porto, Portugal
2018
Lydia Okumura: Situations, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, AZ, USA
2017
Dentro, o que existe fora, Galeria Jaqueline Martins, São Paulo, Brazil
Five Sides and Other Dimensions, BROADWAY 1602 UPTOWN & HARLEM, New York, NY, USA
Lydia Okumura: Situations, Weber State University, Ogden, UT, USA
2016
Lydia Okumura: Situations, UB Art Galleries, Buffalo, NY, USA
Uprooting Architecture: 1.000.000mm3, Ideobox Artspace, Miami, FL, USA
2015
The Disappearance of Perspective, BROADWAY 1602 UPTOWN & HARLEM, NY/Wentworth House Garden, Norfolk, CT, USA
In Front of Light, Centro Cultural Vergueiro, São Paulo, Brazil
2004
Recent Circular Paintings, Galeria Deco, São Paulo, Brazil
1995
Recent Paintings, Museu de Arte de Pinacoteca do Estado, São Paulo, Brazil
1993
Recent Works on Paper, Galerie d'art Jean-Claude Bergeron, Ottawa, Canada
1991
Recent Paintings, Kate Art Gallery, São Paulo, Brazil
1984
Architectural Metapho-Objects and Installations, Museu de Arte Moderna, São Paulo, Brazil
Installation and Paintings, Galeria São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Installation and Paintings, Condeso & Lawler Gallery, New York, NY, USA
1983
Installation: Work on Paper, Utsubo Gallery, Osaka, Japan
1982
Installation and Paintings, Condeso & Lawler Gallery, New York, NY, USA
1981
Installation at Espaço Arena, Museu de Arte de Pinacoteca do Estado, São Paulo, Brazil
1980
Installation and Works on Paper, Watari Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
1979
Installation and Works on Paper, Utsubo Gallery, Osaka, Japan
Installation and Works on Paper, Guinzakaigakan Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
1978
Installation and Works on Paper, Nobe Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Installation: Inversion Plus on Both Sides, Cayman Gallery, New York, NY, USA
1977
Graphics and Works on Paper, Nobe Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Registros de Experiencias 1971-1977, Galeria do SESC Vila Nova, São Paulo, Brazil
1968
Assemblage-Relief-Paintings, Varanda Galeria de Arte, São Paulo, Brazil
2020
Dimensions of Reality: Female Minimal, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, France
2019
Negative Space: Trajectories of Sculpture, curated by Peter Weibel, Daria Mille and Anett Holzheid, ZKM Karlsruhe, Germany
Women Geometers, curated by Adriana Herrera, Atchugarry Art Center, Miami, FL, USA
2018
Matriz do Tempo Real, MAC USP, São Paulo, Brazil
Dialectics of Entanglement: Do We Exist Together?, A.I.R. Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Land of Lads, Land of Lashes, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, London, UK
Light, Line, Color, and Space, UB Art Galleries, Buffalo, NY, USA
#iff2018, Instituto Figueiredo Ferraz, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
2017
Für Barbara, The Hall Foundation, Derneburg, Germany
Minimalist Anyway, White Rainbow Gallery, London, UK
Pedra no Céu, Museu Brasileiro de Escultura, São Paulo, Brazil
2016
Inaugural Exhibition, BROADWAY 1602 UPTOWN & HARLEM, New York, NY, USA
2015
Pinta Art Fair, Saludarte Foundation, Miami, FL, USA
Metáforas Construidas, Galeria LaCometa, Bogotá, Colombia
SIDESHOW NATION II, Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, USA
2014
LAND OF SUNSHINE, Japanese-Brazilian Artists from the Ricardo Akagawa Collection, Prefecture Museum, Gunma, Japan
Points of View 1973-2014, with Equipe3, Museu do Solar de Marquesa, São Paulo, Brazil
Contra o estado das coisas-anos 70, with Equipe3, Jaqueline Martins Gallery, São Paulo, Brazil
ULTRAPASSADO II, BROADWAY 1602 UPTOWN & HARLEM, New York, NY, USA
ULTRAPASSADO I, BROADWAY 1602 UPTOWN & HARLEM, New York, NY, USA
SP-Art Fair, Galeria Jaqueline Martins Gallery, São Paulo, Brazil
Sideshow Nation II, Alamo, Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn, New York, NY, USA
2011
Shaped Painting, Onetwentyeight Gallery, New York, NY, USA
2010
Salvador Allende Collection, Museu de Solidariedad, Santiago, Chile; Museu Afro-Brasileiro, São Paulo, Brazil
2009
Objeto Imaginado, Centro Cultural Vergueiro, São Paulo, Brazil
Cultura Japonesa na Arte Brasileira-Abraços na Arte: Brasil Japão, Palacete das Artes Rodin Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
2008
Contemporary Art Yokohama-São Paulo Art Project, Iwasaki Museum, Yokohama, Japan
100 Anos de Arte Nikkey do Brasil, CCBB, Rio de Janeiro and Brasília, Brazil; Museo Brasileiro de Escultura MUBE, São Paulo, Brazil
Laços do Olhar, Instituto Tomie Ohtake, São Paulo, Brazil
Nipo-brasileiros no acêrvo, Museu da Pinacoteca do Estado, São Paulo, Brazil
Arte Brasil-Japão Moderno e Atual, MAC/USP Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, Brazil
2005
Other Dimensions of Abstract Art, Gallery Onetwentyeight and Tribes Gallery, New York, NY, USA
2004
Generations.04, A.I.R. Gallery, New York, NY, USA
2003
Gerações: a arte contemporânea nipo-brasileira, Espaço de Art, Unicid University/Museu da Casa Brasileira, São Paulo, Brazil
2001
Arte nipo-brasileira, momentos, Galeria Euro-Art Castelli, São Paulo, Brazil
Fetish-istic, Gallery Onetwentyeight, New York, NY, USA
1999
Perspectives, Paintings and Installations from Brazil, USA and Norway, Onetwentyeight Gallery, New York, NY, USA; Atelier Coletivo de Olinda, PE, Brazil
1998
Traços e formas, Jo Slaviero Galeria de Arte, São Paulo, Brazil
1997
Onetwentyeight Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Contemporary Japanese-Brazilian Painters, Oficina des Artes Santa Helena, Jacareí, São Paulo, Brazil
Japanese/Brazilian Women's Exhibition, Museu de Arte Nipo-Brasileiro, São Paulo, Brazil
1996
Interiores, Coleção Gilberto Chateaubriand, Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Contemporary Japanese-Brazilian Art Traveling Exhibition, Museums in São Paulo, Brazil and Niigata, Tokushima, Gifu and Tokyo, Japan
1995
Contemporary Japanese/Brazilian Artists, Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Five Contemporary Artists, Toki Art Gallery, São Paulo, Brazil
Mares Nevegados, Mosteiro dos Jerônimos, Lisbon, Portugal
Women's Global Vision, Aba Gallery, New York, NY, USA
XIV International Drawing Exhibition, Mirò Foundation, Barcelona, Spain
1994
O desenho moderno no Brasil, Coleção Gilberto Chateaubriand, Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Xilografia: do cordel `a galeria, Companhia do Metropolitano de São Paulo, Brazil
1993
Portugal-Japão 450 anos de Amizade, Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado, FAAP, São Paulo, Brazil
1991
The Awakening/El Despertar, The Discover Museum, Bridgeport, CT, USA
1990
Latin American Biennial, Latin Art CA '90, Lavalin Gallery, Montreal, Canada
1989
Invitational: Salão de Arte Contemporânea de Campinas, Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
1988
80th Anniversary of the Japanese Immigration, 40 Artists, Museu de Arte de São Paulo, Sço Paulo, Brazil
Arte em Jóias, Luiz Carlos Okubo + Galeria Sculptura, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasília and Tokyo
1987
Conexus, Connection Project, Museum Contemporary Hispanic Art, New York, NY, USA
Art of the Americas, International Monetary Fund, Washington, DC, USA
Eminent Immigrants, Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art at Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden, Staten Island, NY, USA
1986
Artists for Artists, Forefront Gallery, Long Island City, NY, USA
1985
Exuberant Abstraction, Modern Art Consultants, New York, NY, USA
Today's Art of Brazil, The Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
1984
10 Artists of Latin America, International House, New York, NY, USA
Coleção Gilberto Chateaubriand Retrato e auto-retrato da arte brasileira, Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
1983
Painting Installation, 17th International Biennial of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; Center for Inter-American Relations, New York, NY, USA
Condeso/Lawler Gallery, New York, NY, USA
Hispanic Achievement in the Arts, Equitable Gallery, New York, NY, USA
The Japan Dynasty '83, The Sande Webster Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, USA
1982
Center for Inter-American Relations, New York, NY, USA
Central Hall Artists Gallery, New York, NY, USA
1981
Contemporary Art of Latin America, The National Museum of Osaka, Japan
Form, Inform and Recreate, The International Biennial of Medellín, Colombia
The Shaped Fields: Eccentric Formats, MoMA PS1, Long Island City, NY, USA
1980
Installation/Two Artists, Pratt Institute Gallery, New York, NY, USA
A.I.R. Gallery, New York, NY, USA
1979
Installations - Cecile Abish, Kazuko, Lydia Okumura, Nobe Gallery, New York, NY, USA
From Tokyo to SP - Installation, 15th International Biennial of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Three Artists: Equipe3, Cranbrook Academy of Arts, Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA
Recent Acquisitions, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, USA
Contemporary Art Festival, Daegu, Korea
1978
Creative Artists Public Service Grantee Exhibition, New York, NY, USA
Four Artists Installation, Barbara Schwartz Residence, New York, NY, USA
International Exhibition of Original Drawings, Museum of Modern Art, Rijeka, Yugoslavia
Imigração 70, SESC Campestre, São Paulo, Brazil
1977
XII International Graphic Arts Biennial, Ljubljana Biennial of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana, Slovenia
In Front of Light Installation, 14th International Biennial of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
III International Biennial of Drawings, Vienna, Austria
Annual Exhibition, Pratt Graphics Center, New York, NY, USA
Prints from the Collection, donated by Yara Cohen, Museu da Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, Brazil
1976
Decade of '70s, CAYC, Buenos Aires, Museum of Contemporary Art, São Paulo, Brazil
Annual Exhibition, Pratt Graphics Center, New York, NY, USA
XV International Drawing Exhibition, Miró Foundation, Barcelona, Spain
IV International Biennial of Graphic Arts, Kraków, Poland
V International Biennial of Drawings, Rijeka, Yugoslavia
III International Biennial of Graphics, Fredrikstad, Norway
IV International Graphics Biennial, Freshen, West Germany
Iman: New York, Center for Inter-American Relations, New York, NY, USA
SALALM, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
1975
Equipe3 Installations, Estudio Actual Gallery, Caracas, Venezuela
XI International Biennial of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana, Slovenia
XIV International Drawing Exhibition, Miró Foundation, Barcelona, Spain
Brazilian Art Festival, Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, AL, USA
1974
Prospectiva, Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil
Inverted Rainbow, Salão de Arte Contemporânea de Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil
Annual Exhibition, Pratt Graphics Center, New York, NY, USA
1973
Equipe3: Pontos de Vista, 12th International Biennial of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
International Biennial of Graphic Art, Puerto Rico
Triptychs and Sculpture, Galeria Eucatexpo, São Paulo, Brazil
1972
Jovem Arte Contemporânea, Museu de Arte Contemporânea, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
Acontecimentos 7.04.1972 - 9th Aniversário, Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil
National Biennial of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Incluir os Excluidos - Equipe3, VI Jovem Art Contemporânea (JAC), Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil
1971
Identity: Five Conceptual Artists Exhibition, SESC-Vila Nova, São Paulo, Brazil
Equipe3: Restaurarte, IV Salão de Arte Contemporânea de Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil
Annual de Artes Plásticas da FAAP, São Paulo, Brazil
1970
III EXPO de Arte Contemporânea, Colégio Maria Imaculada, São Paulo, Brazil
1969
Two Artists Exhibition, Galeria Hobjeto, São Paulo, Brazil
Coletiva de Inauguração, Galeria Acervo, São Paulo, Brazil; Salão Seibi; Galeria Objeto
Salão de Arte Contemporânea do Grupo Seibi, Aliança Cultural Brasil Japão, São Paulo, Brazil
1968
Salão de Arte Contemporânea do Grupo Seibi, Aliança Cultural Brasil Japão, São Paulo, Brazil
IV Salão do Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
1st Salão Joven, Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
II Biennial de Bahia, BA
1967
Salão do Trabalho, SESC Vila Nova, São Paulo, Brazil
X Salão de Arte Contemporânea de São Bernardo, São Paulo, Brazil
1st Salão de Arte Contemporânea de São Caetano do Sul, São Paulo, Brazil
III Salão de Arte Contemporânea de Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
X Salão Paulista de Belas Artes, São Paulo, Brazil
1966
II Salão de Art Contemporânea de Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
XXXI Salão Paulista de Arte Moderna, São Paulo, Brazil
XV Salão Paulista de Arte Moderna, São Paulo, Brazil
1965
I Congresso Sul Americano de Cerâmica, FAAP, São Paulo, Brazil
XIV Salão Paulista de Arte Moderna, São Paulo, Brazil
XXX Salão Paulista de Belas Artes, São Paulo, Brazil
Brazil
Biblioteca Pública Mario de Andrade, São Paulo
Coleção de Arte da Cidade de São Paulo/Centro Cultural São Paulo, São Paulo
Museu da Pinacoteca do Estado, São Paulo
Museu de Arte Brasileira, São Paulo
Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo
Museu de Arte do Parlamento, São Paulo
Museu de Arte Moderna, São Paulo
Palácio Itamaraty – Ministério de Relações Exteriores, Brasilia
Chile
Museo de Solidaridad Salvador Allende, Santiago
Colombia
Museum de Arte Moderno, Bogotá
Japan
Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo
Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, Kobe
Norway
Contemporary Graphic Art Collection, Fredrikstad
Spain
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid
United Arab Emirates
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi
USA
Akron Museum of Art, Akron, OH
IBM Atlanta, Equitable, NY
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Smith College Museum of Art, North Hampton, MA
UB Art Galleries, University at Buffalo, NY
Venezuela
Museum of Belas Artes, Caracas
1978
Purchase Prize, International Graphics Biennial, Fredrikstad, Norway
Annual Prize, Pratt Graphics Center Annual Exhibition, New York, NY, USA
1977
Biennial Prize, International Biennial of São Paulo, Brazil
1973
Secretaria de Arte, Cultura e Turismo Prize, International Biennial of São Paulo, Brazil
1972
Annie Alvares Penteado Annual Prize, FAAP, São Paulo, Brazil
Acquisition Prize, Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
1971
Incentive Prize, Jovem Arte Contemporânea - Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil