Testuo Mizu

Born in Tokyo in 1944, Mizu was profoundly inspired by Modigliani and regarded him as a lifelong mentor. He began formal art studies in 1971 at Musashino Art Academy and soon embarked on a dedicated creative career.

The “Flag Series,” which rose to prominence in the 1980s, employs the visual language of international maritime signal flags—each representing an alphabet letter or numeral, a communication system established in the mid-19th century. Mizu ingeniously transforms each letter of a title into its corresponding flag, creating abstract compositions with a distinctive worldview.