Teruko Yokoi – Art in the Making

This film is a portrait of the Swiss-Japanese artist Teruko Yokoi (1924-2020). Born in Japan, Yokoi went to the U.S. to study abstract painting, then she decided to work in Bern, Switzerland. At the age of 95, Kunstmuseum Bern held her retrospective which was a long-held dream of hers. She died a few weeks after its closure. This film shows a determined woman artist who preserved despite the difficulties of a single mother, in the shadow of her famous ex-husband Sam Francis. The film analyses also the fascinating methods of her painting. Inspired by memories of her youth in Japan, Yokoi applied Japanese techniques like empty space or calligraphy to the genre of American abstract expressionism.