Kimiyo Mishima and Shomei Tomatsu at Nonaka-Hill

Any Japanese artist coming of age in the aftermath of World War II would be impacted by the devastation and humiliation of defeat. Gutai, a group of Japanese artists influenced by historic events and the American abstract expressionist movement have received considerable attention in the past decade. A newly opened gallery on Highland Avenue, Nonaka-Hill, is showing paintings by Kimiyo Mishima, born in 1932, and photographs by Shomei Tomatsu, born in 1930.

Kimiyo Mishima. “Transfiguration II”, 1966. Magazine, oil on canvas. 130.5 x 162 cm 51-3/8 x 63-3/4 inches © Kimiyo Mishima / Courtesy of Nonaka-Hill and Taka Ishii Gallery

In later years, she turned to ceramics and is known for making realistic clay reproductions of soda and beer cans or other items. Two examples are in the rear gallery.

Masaomi Yasunaga. “Dakkoku”, 2017. Glass, soil. 15 x 18 x 13 cm. 5-7/8 x 7-1/8 x 5-1/8 in. Photo courtesy of Nonaka-Hill, Los Angeles

That gallery also features six small ceramic sculptures, simple and intriguing forms, by artist Masaomi Yasunaga, who was born in 1982 but is intelligently responsive to the history of the medium.

Shomei Tomatsu. Plastics, Kujukuri Beach, Chiba, 1988-89/1989. Chromogenic print. 41.9 x 41.9 cm 16.50 x 16.50 inches © Shomei Tomatsu - INTERFACE / Courtesy of Nonaka-Hill and Taka Ishii Gallery Photography / Film

Tomatsu is a formative figure the era of great post-war photography in Japan and founded the “Workshop” school with the now revered Nobuyoshi Araki, Eikoh Hosoe, Daido Moriyama and others. Plastics, as this series of photographs is titled, are from the late 1980s, and reflect his time walking the black sand beachs in Chiba. He documented the plastic waste that washed ashore. Shadowy, not showy, they present early evidence of what is now an epidemic of ocean pollution.

Shomei Tomatsu. Plastics, Kujukuri Beach, Chiba, 1988-89/1989. Chromogenic print. 41.9 x 41.9 cm 16.50 x 16.50 inches © Shomei Tomatsu - INTERFACE / Courtesy of Nonaka-Hill and Taka Ishii Gallery Photography / Film

closes June 30.