Tetsuo Harada

Lore & Background

Harada was born after World War II in a small village called Niitsu surrounded by rice fields (now turned into the actual city of Niigata). His father Niichiro and mother Kikuno Harada had 3 boys and 3 girls; Tetsuo was the 6th. His father was a blacksmith and later worked constructing buildings using metal structures, and was chairman of the 'Harada Tekojio'. Tetsuo studied at Tamabi Fine Arts University in Tokyo (1968–1971) and at the Ecole Superieure des Beaux Arts de Paris (1973–1975). He lived and worked mostly in Paris, France, and carved granite in his large studio in Fresnay l'Eveque near Chartres. He died on 23 November 2024, at the age of 75.

Reader's Guide

Harada's work is often compared to that of Constantin Brâncuși, Isamu Noguchi, Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore. His sculptures can be seen around the world in private collections, museums and the streets as monumental public works, or ephemeral Land-art installations. He explored a wide universe of materials (wood, metal, bronze, resin, glass) and shapes but the themes of pacifism, Nature (earth), sexuality and fertility remain prevalent. In the 1990s he came to much recognition with his 'Earth Weaving' theme, binding nations in fraternity with granite rings.

Did You Know?

• Harada studied at Tamabi University Tokyo with Professor Tatehata and at Beaux-arts de Paris with Professor Colamarigny and Jean Cardot.
• He taught fine art and urban design at the National Superior Architecture School of Versailles (ENSAV) for 30 years.
• His first monumental sculpture in Europe was 'Die Hand von Buddhas' (The Buddha's Hand), carved in Italian marble in 1974 for the city of Homburg, Germany.
• In 1985 he won a competition for a memorial to the Resistance and the Deportation in Nanterre, carving two columns of Breton blue granite.