Keiichi Tanaami: Goldfish, Searchlights and Psychedelic Pop
Keiichi Tanaami (1936–2024) made some of the most exuberant images in Japanese art: goldfish, cranes, pine trees, skeletons and swirling patterns in saturated colour. Behind the joy lay memory. As a child in Tokyo he saw the city under air raid, and the searchlights, burning skies and goldfish in his grandfather's tank recur throughout his work.
Design and the 1960s
Tanaami began as a graphic designer and illustrator. Through the 1960s he absorbed pop art and psychedelia, spent time in New York, and made collages, posters and experimental animation. In 1975 he became the first art director of the Japanese edition of Playboy.
A new direction
In 1981 a serious illness and a long stay in hospital changed his imagery. Hallucinatory visions entered his work: twisting pine trees, strange creatures and bridges. Over the following decades he painted, printed and sculpted prolifically, and in his later years younger audiences and fashion brands embraced his work, bringing it to international exhibitions.
What collectors find
- Paintings and collages: unique works across six decades.
- Prints: silkscreens and other editions, signed and numbered.
- Sculpture and multiples: editioned objects in bright lacquered colours.
- Collaborations and goods: apparel and objects with fashion and streetwear brands.
What to check
- Signature, edition number and documentation on prints.
- Colour fading: fluorescent and saturated inks are light-sensitive.
- Surface condition of lacquered multiples.
Questions collectors ask
What are Tanaami's recurring motifs?
Goldfish, cranes, pine trees, searchlights, skeletons, bridges and women from 1950s pin-ups, drawn from memory and dream.
Is his early design work collected?
Yes. Posters, books and magazine work from the 1960s and 1970s have a dedicated following.