The Fukushima Prefectural Museum of Art will be holding an exhibition tracing the footsteps of illustrator Anzai Mizumaru, "Illustrator Anzai Mizumaru," from July 7th to September 2nd.

Reading in a Restaurant
©Kishida Masumi
Anzai Mizumaru is an illustrator who has been active in a wide range of fields since the 1970s, working in novels, manga, picture books, essays, and advertisements. Initially working in design at advertising agencies and publishing companies, he began publishing manga in Garo at the recommendation of Arashiyama Mitsusaburo, and his work "Blue Age," which was based on his childhood in Minami Boso, received high praise. After going independent, he worked on a wide range of projects, including book covers for books by Haruki Murakami and others, picture books such as "Gatan Goton Gatan Goton," exhibitions with Makoto Wada, advertising, and writing. Aiming to create not just skilled works but "paintings that only he could create," he expressed familiar objects in compositions centered around the horizon and using bright Pantone colors.

This exhibition will feature over 700 original drawings and documents, tracing Anzai's journey from childhood to his later years, as he says he "has always loved drawing, ever since he was little."