320 - Arimoto Toshio (Japan, 1946-1985) Arimoto Toshiyuki, a painting entitled 'Tatōkai no Kami' (God of the Multi-Island Sea) Arimoto Toshio (1946–1985) was a Japanese painter born in Okayama Prefecture and raised in Tokyo. After graduating from Tokyo University of the Arts, he worked at the advertising agency Dentsu before devoting himself fully to painting. Incorporating techniques drawn from fresco painting and Buddhist religious imagery, he produced a distinctive body of work of quiet, spiritual beauty, but died prematurely in 1985 at the age of 38.

Arimoto Toshio (Japan, 1946-1985) Arimoto Toshiyuki, a painting entitled 'Tatōkai no Kami' (God of the Multi-Island Sea) Arimoto Toshio (1946–1985) was a Japanese painter born in Okayama Prefecture and raised in Tokyo. After graduating from Tokyo University of the Arts, he worked at the advertising agency Dentsu before devoting himself fully to painting. Incorporating techniques drawn from fresco painting and Buddhist religious imagery, he produced a distinctive body of work of quiet, spiritual beauty, but died prematurely in 1985 at the age of 38. While still a student at Tokyo University of the Arts, he went on a trip to Italy in 1971, where he encountered the work of the early Italian Renaissance genius Piero della Francesca and was deeply moved. From then on, he sought to connect della Francesca's frescoes with Japanese Buddhist painting, exploring a distinctive style that fused classical traditions of East and West. His 1973 graduation piece, "Piero della Francesca, for Me,(Watashi ni Totte no Piero della Francesca)" was so highly acclaimed that it was purchased by the university. This period at university was an extremely important one for Arimoto, marking the origin of his artistic career, and the works from that same year, "Thinking of Pompeii" and "God of the Multi-Island Sea," are valuable as products of this formative time. Notably, these early works already display the hallmarks of what would become the distinctive "Arimoto style"—a quiet, dreamlike worldview that makes them especially worthy of attention. ©YOKO ARIMOTO L: 45.5cm W: 37.9cm / framed / canvas Arimoto Toshiyuki: The Complete Works, 1973–1984, Shinchosha, Tokyo, p. 10. Arimoto Toshiyuki: Beyond the Time When Flowers Fall (exh. cat.), Sankei Shimbun, p. 24. Japan, 1973