Katsumi Nakai was born in 1927 in Hirakata, Osaka. He studied painting at the Institut of Fine Arts of Osaka and after completing his studies he participated to several collective exhibitions. In 1956 he had his first solo show at the gallery Omote and in 1958 he founded, with other seven avant-garde artists, the Tekkeikai group.
In the spring of 1964, when he was 37 years old, as many Japanese artists of the time, he decided to visit Europe and the United States. His path took him to Milan, a city that impressed him profoundly to become the last stage of his trip “following the sun”.
Nakai became close to the circle of artists that in 1967 the art critic Guido Ballo described as the “New Milanese School”. Among them he got to know Tomonori Toyofuku and Lucio Fontana, who will play a fundamental role in the formation of his artistic vision.
The artist returned to live in Japan in 1996 and he died in Hirakata in 2013.
© Galleria del Naviglio, Milan
GALLERY
KATSUMI NAKAI
Flying High
October - January 2026
Katsumi Nakai
November - December 2019
Japan
September - October 2016
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
1956
Omote Gallery, Osaka, Japan
1957
Omote Gallery, Osaka, Japan
1958
Hakuho Gallery, Osaka, Japan
1959
Hakuho Gallery – Osaka, Japan
Museum of Art (one room) – Kioto, Japan
1960
Umeda Gallery, Osaka, Japan
1961
Nakanoshima Gallery, Osaka, Japan
1962
Osaka Form Gallery, Osaka, Japan
Mudo Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
1963
Osaka Form Gallery, Osaka, Japan
Mudo Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
1964
Form Gallery, Osaka, Japan
1965
Galleria del Cavallino, Venice, Italy
Form Gallery, Osaka, Japan
1966
Galleria L’Argentario, Trento, Italy
1967
Del Naviglio Gallery, Milan, Italy
1970
L’Argentario Gallery, Trento, Italy
1972
Christian Stein Gallery, Turin, Italy
Del Naviglio Gallery, Milan, Italy
Gi3 Gallery, Seregno, Italy
Il Gelso Gallery, Lodi, Italy
1973
Il Salotto Gallery, Como, Italy
1975
Santoro Gallery, Rome, Italy
Il traghetto, Venice, Italy
1976
Del Naviglio Gallery, Milan, Italy
Il traghetto Gallery, Venice, Italy
1977
Giuli Gallery, Lecco, Italy
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
1953–57
Dokuritsu Bijutsu Kyokai (Independent Art Association), Japan
1958
Tekkeikai, Gas Salon, Osaka, Japan
Hankyu Gallery, Osaka, Japan
Hakuho Gallery, Osaka, Japan
Osaka Gallery, Osaka, Japan
1959
Kansai Sogo Exhibition, Osaka Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan
Shell Art Prize, Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura, Japan
1959–64
Tekkeikai Group Exhibitions, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, Kyoto, Japan
1960
Young Collectors Exhibition, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA
Asahi Shinjin, Takashimaya Gallery, Osaka & Tokyo, Japan
Tekkeikai, Ginza Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
1961
Hokueikai, Kita Gallery, Osaka & Kyoto, Japan
1962
Maruzen Art Prize, Shirokiya Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Tekkeikai, Fujikawa Gallery, Osaka & Tokyo, Japan
Tekkeikai, Mie Gallery, Osaka, Japan
1963
Contemporary Art Exhibition, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, Kyoto, Japan
Nishimura Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Yamada Gallery, Kyoto, Japan
1966
Mostra Gioco Degli Artisti, Galleria del Naviglio, Milan, Italy
1967
Kiko Gallery, Houston, USA
Omaggio allo Spazialismo, Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Milan, Italy
1968
Premio Piazzetta, Milan, Italy
Mostra Omaggio a Carlo Cardazzo, Il Punto Gallery, Turin, Italy
Galleria Regis, Finale Ligure, Italy
Navigliovenezia, Venice, Italy
1969
Naviglio-Bertone, Galleria del Naviglio, Milan, Italy
John Cage e gli artisti del Naviglio, Milan, Italy
1970
Biennale di Menton, Menton, France
Art Dealer Exchange, Palazzo della Permanente, Milan, Italy
3rd Premio Ambizioni Moderate, Milan, Italy
1971
Bon à Tirer Gallery, Milan, Italy
1972
Christian Stein Gallery, Turin, Italy
Arte Contemporanea Giapponese, Palazzo della Permanente, Milan, Italy
Stained Glass and Mosaic Exhibition, Seregno, Italy
Arte-Rassegna ’72, Sovico, Italy
Japanese Artists in Europe, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo & Kyoto, Japan
1973
Dialectic Contrast of Image, Pordenone, Italy
Il Ritratto Oggi, Villa Faraggiana, Albisola Mare, Italy
International Stained Glass and Mosaic, Arzago d’Adda, Italy
XV Triennale di Milano (Silver Award), Milan, Italy
1974
Toniutti Vetrate e Mosaici, Palazzo del Turismo, Milan, Italy
Art Basel, Basel, Switzerland
1975
Prospettive, Galleria 72, Bergamo, Italy
L’artista e l’artefice, Shop Art, Milan, Italy
Art Basel, Basel, Switzerland
Arte Fiera, Bologna, Italy
1977
Quadriennale Nazionale d’Arte, Rome, Italy
1978
Arte Fiera, Bologna, Italy
