Keizo Morishita (Kitakyushu, 4 February 1944 – Milan, 5 April 2003) was a Japanese painter who lived most of his life in Italy.
Morishita was born in Kitakyūshū-shi, in the Fukuoka Prefecture in Japan. In 1963, at 19 years old, he obtained a scholarship and moved to Milan to study Arts. He attended Marino Marini’s classes at the Brera Fine Arts Academy, where he graduated in 1968. Although Morishita majored in sculpture, his elected medium was painting. His mixed cultural identity, paired with a great intellectual curiosity, prompted him to explore different strategies and procedures from the majority of his fellow students. In the early Sixties, Morishita had direct contact with the avant-garde art scene in milan, which was still linked with Spatialism. His first solo exhibition took place in 1967 at Galleria La Chiocciola in Padua.
Throughout his career Morishita exhibited mostly in Italy, with exhibitions in Milan, Rome, Venice, Turin, Florence, Padua and Brescia. He also exhibited his work in Switzerland (Lugano and Geneva); France (Paris and Saint Tropez); Denmark (Copenhagen); Belgium (Ghent); England (Chester); Taiwan, China, Mexico, and Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Niigata and his hometown Kitakyūshū). Many art critics and curators have written about his work, including Franco Russoli, Roberto Sanesi, Emilio Tadini, Valerio Adami, Ottavio Missoni, Milena Milani, Carlo Franza, Luigi Carluccio, Renzo Margonari, Walter Schönenberger, Taijin Tendo, Keiko Asako, Tani Arata and Rolly Marchi.
Morishita died on 5 April 2003 in Milan.
1967 - Galleria La Chiocciola, Padua
1969 - Galleria Richard Foncke, Ghent, Belgium
1972 - Galleria Barozzi Arte Contemporanea, Venice
1972 - Studio Paolo Barozzi, Milan
1973 - Galleria San Luca, Bologna
1973 - Galleria interarte, Genova
1974 - Galleria Il Triangolo, Pescara
1974 - Galleria La Chiocciola, Padua
1975 - Galleria Menghelli, Florence
1975 - Galleria San Luca, Bologna
1975 - Galleria Margherita, Taranto
1975 - Galleria Richard Foncke, Ghent
1975 - Galleria Galliata, Alassio
1975 - Galleria il Tritone Dialoghi Club, Biella