Key Hiraga was born in Tokyo in 1936. A Japanese artist, he devoted himself exclusively to art after graduating from Rikkyo University in 1957. In 1956 he began taking part in major group exhibitions such as the 1st Asian Young Artists Exhibition, which marked the beginning of his artistic career. In 1963 he was awarded a prize at the Shell Art Award. In 1964 he won the grand prize at the 3rd International Young Artists Exhibition, which enabled him to move to Paris.
After an initial culture shock, caused by the rich energy of the French capital, Hiraga enriched his artistic practice, which at the time was characterized by an almost total monochromatism, with an explosion of color. In 1965, William Lieberman, curator at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, was struck by the quality of Hiraga’s paintings during a visit to his studio and decided to include them in the 1966 exhibition New Japanese Painting and Sculpture.
Between 1966 and 1967, Key Hiraga joined the ORA Group, linked to the art critic Gérald Gassiot-Talabot, who placed him within the movement known as Narrative Figuration. This movement set itself apart both from the social neutrality of the School of Paris and from the formalism of American Pop Art. In 1967 Hiraga won the Second Prize at the Prix Lefranc.
A pivotal moment in the artist’s career came in 1969, when he was selected, along with six other artists, to represent Japan at the 10th São Paulo Biennial. On that occasion, the art critic R.C. Kennedy wrote that without Hiraga’s presence the Biennial would have been a sadder occasion, and that in a handful of canvases the artist revealed himself to be a great painter.
During his stay in Europe, Hiraga took part in numerous solo and group exhibitions in France, the Netherlands, Italy, the United Kingdom and Japan, where he returned permanently between 1974 and 1977. Key Hiraga died in 2000 in Kanagawa, at the age of 64, having spent his last years living in the town of Hakone-Yumoto.
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© Galleria del Naviglio, Milano
GALLERY
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2026
Key Hiraga’s Room. 1970s Works, Studio Gariboldi, Milan, Italy
Key Hiraga. Works 1966–1971, Galerie Loevenbruck, Paris, France
2025
Key Hiraga. The Elegant Life of Mr. H, Nonaka-Hill, Los Angeles, United States
2024
「平賀敬大作展 酒とバラの日々 その世界 -1960s–’90s-」 (Key Hiraga. Major Works. Days of Wine and Roses, 1960–1990), Fuma Contemporary Tokyo | Bunkyo Art, Tokyo, Japan
2020
「平賀敬 没後20年展 ― 酒とバラの日々 II」 (Key Hiraga. Twenty Years On. Days of Wine and Roses II), Fuma Contemporary Tokyo | Bunkyo Art, Tokyo, Japan
2018
Key Hiraga, curated exhibition, Bonhams, New York, United States
2019
Key Hiraga. Works 1958–1993, Ortuzar Projects, New York, United States
2015
The Elegant Life of Key Hiraga, Studio Gariboldi, Milan, Italy
2008
The Elegant Life of Key Hiraga. A Japanese Artist in Europe 1965–1974, The Mayor Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2000
「現代の絵師 平賀敬のアヴァンギャルド戯作画展」 (Key Hiraga, Painter of Our Time. Avant-Garde Gesaku Painting), Hiratsuka Museum of Art, Hiratsuka, Japan
Bokushin Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
1974
New Works by Key Hiraga, Fuma Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
1972
La elegante vita di Mr. Key, Galleria del Naviglio, Milan, Italy
Galleria Graffica, Tokyo, Japan
1971
The Crazy World of Mr K, Galerie T, Haarlem, Netherlands; Galerie Jullmar, Amsterdam, Netherlands
1970
Galerie T, Haarlem, Netherlands
1969
The Elegant Life of Key Hiraga, Gallery Seven (東京第七画廊), Tokyo, Japan
1968
The Elegant Life of Mr. P., Galerie T, Haarlem, Netherlands
1967
Galerie Lambert, Paris, France
1966
Key Hiraga, Travers Gallery, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2026
Italy–Japan. Japanese Artists in Milan since the 1960s, Studio Gariboldi, Milan, Italy
2019
「令和元年度第1期所蔵品展」 (Collection Exhibition, first session), Yokosuka Museum of Art, Yokosuka, Japan
2015
「平賀派三代展 ― ものがたりゆく、ケイ・ミノ・タホ」 (Three Generations of the Hiraga School), Key Hiraga Museum, Hakone-Yumoto, Japan
「平賀敬・太郎 二代展」 (Key and Tarō Hiraga. Two Generations), Bunkamura Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2014
「20世紀検証シリーズ No.4 種村季弘の眼 迷宮の美術家たち」 (Suehiro Tanemura’s Eye. Artists of the Labyrinth), Itabashi Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
2012
「森村泰昌モリエンナーレ まねぶ美術史」 (Yasumasa Morimura. Moriennale), Shizuoka City Museum of Art, Shizuoka, Japan
2005
「ひろがる美術 1945–2000」 (Expanding Art 1945–2000), Yokosuka Shimin Gallery, Yokosuka, Japan
2003
「幻想と幻視 ― 混在領域と領域侵犯」 (Fantasy and Vision), Tanabe City Museum of Art, Tanabe, Japan
2001
「両洋の眼 新美術主義の画家たち 2001」 (Eyes of Both Worlds), Tanabe City Museum of Art, Tanabe, Japan
1998
「21世紀の日本洋画を担う 現代の精鋭作家たち」 (Leading Artists of Our Time), Matsuzakaya Museum and four further venues, Japan
1993
「第15回日本秀作美術展」 (15th Exhibition of Selected Japanese Works), Takashimaya Nihonbashi and four further venues, Japan
「創立30年記念展 近代の美術 ― 所蔵作品による」 (30th Anniversary. Modern Art from the Collection), The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan
1992
「開館10周年記念展 アダムとイヴ」 (Adam and Eve), The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, Japan
1991
「芸術と日常 ― 反芸術／汎芸術」 (Japanese Anti-Art: Now and Then), The National Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan
1990
「第3回具象絵画ビエンナーレ ― 人の生きる・今」 (3rd Biennale of Figurative Painting), Mie Prefectural Art Museum, Tsu, Japan
1989
Japanese Ways, Western Means: Art of the 1980s in Japan (Art Exciting ’89 ― Beyond the Present), The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, Japan; Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia
1988
「現代の人物画展」 (The Human Figure in Contemporary Art), Isetan and further venues, Japan
1986
「ザ・メッセージ 日本現代絵画83人展」 (The Message. 83 Contemporary Japanese Painters), Sogo Museum of Art, Yokohama, Japan
1985
「日本現代絵画展」 (Contemporary Japanese Painting), National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, India
「新收蔵作品展」 (New Acquisitions), The National Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan
1984
「1960–1970年代の現代絵画の20年」 (Twenty Years of Contemporary Painting, 1960s–1970s), The Museum of Modern Art, Gunma, Takasaki, Japan
1983–2000
Exhibits regularly with the Jinjinkai group (人人会), Tokyo, Japan
1983
「現代美術の動向 II 1960年代 ― 多様化への出発」 (Trends of Japanese Art in the 1960s), Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
1981–1982
「1960年代 ― 現代美術の転換期」 (The 1960’s ― A Decade of Change in Contemporary Japanese Art), The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan
1981
「現代日本の美術展」 (Contemporary Japanese Art), Miyazaki Prefectural Museum, Miyazaki, Japan; Japanisches Kulturinstitut, Cologne, Germany
「第3回日本秀作美術展」 (3rd Exhibition of Selected Japanese Works), Takashimaya, Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka and Kyoto, Japan
1980
「日本の洋画にみる 回想の裸婦・現代のヌード」 (The Nude in Japanese Western-Style Painting), Matsuzakaya Ginza, Tokyo, Japan
1979
「明日を拓く精鋭23人展」 (Twenty-three Artists Opening Tomorrow), Tokyo Central Museum, Tokyo, Japan
1974
Salon des Beaux-Arts, Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris, France
1972
Japanese Artists in Europe, The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan
Salon des Beaux-Arts, Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris, France
Salon des Réalités Nouvelles, Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris, France
1970
Recent Acquisitions V, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, United States
1969
10th São Paulo Biennial, Modern Frontier section (Eros and Humour), São Paulo, Brazil
「現代日本美術展」 (Contemporary Art Exhibition of Japan), Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and nine further venues, Japan
1968
「第1回国際エロティック・アート展」 (1st International Exhibition of Erotic Art), Lund, Sweden
Japanese Drawing Show, San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco, United States
12 Artistes Japonais 68, various galleries, France
1967
ORA Group Exhibition, Galerie Jacqueline Ranson, Paris, France
L’Oeil de Boeuf, Galerie T, Haarlem, Netherlands
Prix Lefranc, Paris, France ― second prize
1966
The New Japanese Painting and Sculpture, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, United States (touring exhibition to eight American museums between 1965 and 1967)
La Figuration Narrative, Galerie Creuze, Paris, France (then Prague, Lausanne and Lyon)
1965
Seize Jeunes Peintres Japonais, Galerie Lambert, Paris, France
Group exhibition of nine artists, Galerie Argos, Nantes, France
「秀作美術展」 (Exhibition of Selected Works), Mainichi Shimbun, Japan
Biennale de Paris, Paris, France
1964
「第3回国際青年美術家展」 (3rd International Young Artists Exhibition), Tokyo, Japan ― Grand Prize and scholarship to Paris
「第38回国展」 (38th Kokuten, Kokuga-kai Exhibition), Tokyo, Japan ― New Artist Prize
1963
「第7回シェル美術賞展」 (7th Shell Art Award Exhibition), Shirokiya, Tokyo, Japan ― third prize
1956
「第1回アジア青年美術家展」 (1st Asian Young Artists Exhibition), Tokyo, Japan
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Museum of Modern Art, New York, United States
The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan
The National Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan
Toyohashi City Museum of Art, Toyohashi, Japan
Tokushima Prefectural Museum of Modern Art, Tokushima, Japan
Yokosuka Museum of Art, Yokosuka, Japan
Key Hiraga Museum, Hakone-Yumoto, Japan
SOURCES
Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, 「平賀敬」, in Nihon Bijutsu Nenkan (obituary, 2001)
Art Platform Japan, Agency for Cultural Affairs, artist record HIRAGA Kei (A1814)
Art Platform Japan, Agency for Cultural Affairs, database of contemporary art exhibitions in Japan and abroad
Agency for Cultural Affairs, Contemporary Japanese Art Exhibitions Held Overseas 1945–1995
Tokushima Prefectural Museum of Modern Art, artist record 平賀敬
Toyohashi City Museum of Art, artist record 平賀敬
The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, exhibition archive 1972
Hiratsuka Museum of Art, 「現代の絵師 平賀敬のアヴァンギャルド戯作画展」, exhibition catalogue, 2000
FUMA Contemporary Tokyo | Bunkyo Art, exhibition chronology of 平賀敬
The Mayor Gallery, London, exhibition archive
Ortuzar Projects, New York, exhibition archive
Galerie Loevenbruck, Paris, exhibition programme
Nonaka-Hill, Los Angeles, exhibition archive
Galerie Loevenbruck, Paris, Key Hiraga dossier
Museum of Modern Art, New York, collection catalogue
Dorothy C. Miller and William S. Lieberman (eds.), The New Japanese Painting and Sculpture, The Museum of Modern Art, New York 1966
Inge Klompmakers, The Elegant Life of Key Hiraga. A Japanese Artist in Europe 1965–1974, The Mayor Gallery, London 2008
European exhibitions of the 1960s and 1970s not documented by the sources listed above come from the Studio Gariboldi archive, in particular from the Galleria del Naviglio papers.
Page updated October 2026. Corrections and additions: posta@studiogariboldi.com
