Born in 1936 in Japan, Masami Teraoka moved to the US and received a B.F.A. and an M.F.A. from Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles in the late 1960s. His works have been exhibited at Whitney Museum of American Art, Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, and Yale University Art Gallery, amongst many other prestigious institutions. This summer, Honolulu Museum of Art will also be hosting a solo exhibition of Teraoka’s work.

Painted in 1988, the three paintings in the auction (Lot 49, 50, 51) represent Masami’s interest in establishing an ongoing dialogue between modern-day controversial social topics and traditional iconography, as well as using watercolor and pencil to replicate Japanese ukiyo-e style, therefore juxtaposing the clashing between Asian and Western culture.

Teraoka’s oeuvre is an embodiment of his long-time engagement to integrate the past and the present, fantasy and actuality, seriousness and satire, and East and the West.