Village Antiques

Erna Yoshida Blenk – Artist and Illustrator

July 4, 1913, Shanghai - July 6, 1996, Zürich

Also known as: Erna Yoshida Früh-Blenk

Erna Yoshida Blenk

Erna Yoshida Blenk, the daughter of a Swiss father and Japanese mother, was born in Shanghai.  She studied at the high school for the arts in Zurich wtih Otto Meyer-Amden und Ernst Gubler and began her career as an illustrator for a number of major publishing houses, while at the same time painting.  Her work, including many still lifes and botanical images, evokes asian themes and influences.  She married the Swiss Artist Eugen Frueh, and worked closely with him later in her life.  After his death, she founded the

References:  Book on the Life and Work of Erna Yoshida Blenk

Eugen und Yoshida Fruh Stiftung

Selected Exhibitions (Source: Wikipedia)

  • 1948: Buchhandlung Bodmer, Zürich
  • 1950: Kunstsalon Wolfsberg
  • 1955 und 1957: Internationale Kunstausstellung in Tokio
  • 1958, 1964, 1971 und 1985: Galerie Orell Füssli
  • 1962: Aargauer Kunsthaus
  • 1970: Schwarzweiss und Bunt, ETH Zürich
  • 1977: Natur heute und morgen, Helmhaus, Zürich
  • 1980: Sommer und Sonne, Galerie Wolfsberg, Zürich

Illustrated works (Source Wikipedia)

  • Fritz Rosenfeld: Der Goldfasan. Drei Legenden. Mit Holzschnitten von Erna Yoshida Blenk. Büchergilde Gutenberg, Zürich/Wien/Prag 1933.
  • Paul Adolf Brenner: Das trostreiche Antlitz. Mit 10 Holzschnitten von Erna Yoshida Blenk. Verlag Oprecht, Zürich 1941.
  • Helmut Schilling: Die Zwillingsbrüder. Mit Pinselzeichnungen von Erna Yoshida Blenk. Büchergilde Gutenberg, Zürich/Wien/Prag 1952.
  • Annemarie Schwyter: Der große Regen. Ein chinesisches Märchen. Mit 6 Original-Holzschnitten von Erna Yoshida Blenk. Alpha-Presse, Zürich 1954.