Renowned Japanese sumi ink artist Toko Shinoda dies at 107

Toko Shinoda, a Japanese avant-garde artist internationally renowned for her unique style of abstract sumi ink paintings, has died of natural causes. She was 107.Shinoda, whose real first name was Masuko, died in the early hours of Monday at a Tokyo hospital, her family said. Born in Dalian, Manchuria, in what is now northeastern China, Shinoda began her study of traditional calligraphy at an early age, shifting to abstract sumi paintings following World War II.In 1956, she traveled to New York, where she was exposed to abstract expressionism and drew attention for her distinctive style tha…READ FULL ARTICLE