Yuko Nii (born 1942) is a Japanese artist and philanthropist. Her work has included painting, printmaking, graphic design, stage set, costume and fashion design. She has written journalism, poetry, fiction, essays and philosophy, and published two books. She also runs the non-profit organization Yuko Nii Foundation.

Early life and education

Nii was born in 1942. She is from

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. She studied (1961–63) English and American Literature at

Aoyama Gakuin University is a private Christian university in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Originally established in 1874 by missionaries from the Methodist Episcopal Church, it was reconfigured in its current form in 1949 as tertiary component of the Aoyama Gakuin. The u ...

, Tokyo, Japan. In 1963 she transferred to Macalaster College,

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

as a scholarship student, and earned her BFA. in 1965. From 1966 she attended

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has an additional campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The institute was founded in 18 ...

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, as a fellowship student and earned her

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

in painting in 1969.

Williamsburg Art & Historical Center

In 1996, Nii founded the non-profit

Williamsburg Art & Historical Center Kings County Savings Bank is a former bank building at 135 Broadway in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. It is an example of French Second Empire-style architecture. Construction of the building began in 1860, to de ...

(WAH Center) in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York, which is housed in the Kings County Savings Bank Building in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

- a New York City Landmark.

Yuko Nii Foundation

In 2008, she launched the non-profit Yuko Nii Foundation to hold, maintain and preserve contemporary art and historical artifacts and properties, including the landmark building, which Yuko Nii purchased in 1996 and later donated to the Yuko Nii Foundation in 2008. The collection includes many Japanese art pieces from the 16th through the 20th century. Some of the artists include

Ilya Bolotowsky Ilya Bolotowsky (July 1, 1907 – November 22, 1981) was an early 20th-century Russian-American painter in abstract styles in New York City. His work, a search for philosophical order through visual expression, embraced cubism and geometric ...

, Jerry Rudquist, Ansei Uchima, Toshiko Uchima,

Judy Chicago Judy Chicago (born Judith Sylvia Cohen; July 20, 1939) is an American feminist artist, art educator, and writer known for her large collaborative art installation pieces about birth and creation images, which examine the role of women in history ...

Faith Ringgold Faith Ringgold (born Faith Willi Jones; October 8, 1930 – April 13, 2024) was an American painter, author, Sculpture, mixed media sculptor, performance artist, and Intersectionality, intersectional activist, perhaps best known for her Narrativ ...

Toshiko Takaezu Toshiko Takaezu (June 17, 1922 – March 9, 2011) was an American ceramic artist, painter, sculptor, and educator whose oeuvre spanned a wide range of mediums, including ceramics, weavings, bronzes, and paintings. She was noted for her pioneerin ...

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono (, usually spelled in katakana as ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up in Tokyo and moved to New York ...

Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese contemporary artist who works primarily in sculpture and Installation art, installation, and she is also active in painting, performance art, performance, video art, Fashion design, fashion, poetry, fiction, and other arts. Her wo ...

Terrance Lindall Terrance Lindall (born 1944) is an American artist and the co-director and chief administrator of the Williamsburg Art and Historical Center in Brooklyn, New York. Lindall's illustrations have been published in '' Heavy Metal'', ''Creepy'', ''Ee ...

, Doug Buebe, Beatrice Coron,

Kenichi Nakajima Kenichi Nakajima (中島健一, Nakajima Kenichi, born 1978) is a Japanese painter, visual artist, and performance artist. He is known for his exhibitions at the Williamsburg Art & Historical Center, including the group exhibitions ''Life on Ear ...

, Charles Compo, and as well as her own artworks.

Honors and awards

In 1998, Howard Golden, then Brooklyn borough president, named Nii Brooklyn’s Women of the Year. In 2001, Governor

George Pataki George Elmer Pataki (; born June 24, 1945) is an American politician who served as the 53rd governor of New York from 1995 to 2006. He previously served in the State Legislature from 1985 to 1994, and as the mayor of Peekskill from 1981 to 1984 ...

named Nii a "Woman of Excellence, Vision and Courage."

Bibliography

* ''Blue Eyed Satori''. Terrance R. Lindall, Yuko Nii, 1970 * ''Yuko Nii: Art and Achievements,'' 2017

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nii, Yuko 1942 births Living people Artists from Tokyo Japanese artists Japanese emigrants to the United States Aoyama Gakuin University alumni Macalester College alumni Pratt Institute alumni 20th-century Japanese women artists 21st-century Japanese women artists