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Title
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Masami Teraoka
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Description
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Masami Teraoka was born in 1936 in Onomichi, Hiroshima-ken, Japan (Teraoka 2018). He studied at Kansei Gakuin University in Japan, graduating in 1959 with a B.A. in aesthetics, and continued on with higher education receiving both a B.F.A and M.F.A from Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles in 1968 (Teraoka 2018). Teraoka explores complex themes of social and political issues with large-scale works, from AIDS to hypocrisy in religious institutions and beyond. (Teraoka 2018). His work draws heavy inspiration from both Renaissance paintings and Japanese traditional Ukiyo-e.
Teraoka often uses oil paint in his recent work, however, he also has created many iconic works using watercolor and other painting techniques. His watercolor paintings and prints in the 1970s emulate Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints (Yoshimoto 2011). In this series of works, he often satirized the American cultural impact on Japan, creating a new narrative that was driven by his culture. He has made works such as “Semana Santa/Cloisters Workout” which address significant American historical events, such as 9/11 (Miles 2008).
His most recent work comments on the institutionalized sexual abuse within the Catholic church. His series, created in 2018, titled “Last Supper Series” emulates the art style of the Renaissance with oil paint and gold leaf set within gold leaf frames. They are all grand in scale, over 120” x 122” each, and resemble something that would be seen at a church altar, or even a stained glass window. However, the subject matter is explicitly sexual, raw, and at times even violent. Zombie-like popes and voyeuristic priests are associated with women posed sensually while also fighting against the antagonists of the work. Teraoka creates a provocative collection that challenges the church’s foundation while also including aspects of his own culture. He includes Geishas in some of the works, creating a broader narrative of this complicated issue. Teraoka uses geishas to insert his cultural background into a Western-dominated discourse, challenging who gets to tell the story. Inserting geishas creates a conversation on sexual politics and feminine power.
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Alternative Title
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The Last Supper Series
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Source
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Miles, Christopher. 2008. "Masami Teraoka." Artforum International, 09, 470. https://login.union.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/magazines/masami-teraoka/docview/214337621/se-2.
Teraoka, Masami. 2018. “Masami Teraoka.” Masami Teraoka. 2018. https://www.masamiteraoka.com/biography.
Yoshimoto, Midori. "Teraoka, Masami." Grove Art Online. 23 Feb. 2011; Accessed 26 Apr. 2025. https://www-oxfordartonline-com.union.idm.oclc.org/groveart/view/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.001.0001/oao-9781884446054-e-7002091049.
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Name
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Victoria Davison
