Masakazu Horiuchi, a pioneer of abstract sculpture and a professor emeritus at Kyoto City University of Arts, died of pneumonia Friday at his home in Tokyo, his family said. He was 90.
Typical Horiuchi sculptures, which incorporated geometrical designs, attracted visitors at major Western museums such as the Rodin Museum in Paris and New York's Guggenheim Museum.
In his early years, Horiuchi, a native of Kyoto, became interested in new art movements in Europe and began creating abstract works, including welded metal sculptures.
In 1929, his "Neck" won Horiuchi his first Nika Prize, a prestigious Japanese sculpture honor.
He became a professor at a predecessor of Kyoto City University of Arts in 1950.
In 1969, "Un cube coupe en deux parties egales (two equal parts of a cube)" won grand prize at the first International Exhibition of Contemporary Sculpture at the Hakone Open-Air Museum in Kanagawa Prefecture.
Horiuchi received other coveted sculpture prizes in several cities including Kobe and Nagano.