Tadaaki Kuwayama (March 4, 1932 – August 18, 2023) was a Japanese painter known for his contributions to minimalism.

[1] After studying traditional Japanese painting (nihonga) at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and graduating in 1956, Kuwayama, along with his wife, left Japan for New York City in 1958.

His first solo exhibition at the Green Gallery in 1961 featured Untitled: Red and Blue, a minimalist artwork featuring two distinct rectangular panels, one painted in red and the other in blue, with sharp, clean lines, and a clear separation of colors.

[1][2] In later exhibitions, Kuwayama transitioned from paper to canvas and then to more industrial materials such as titanium, also exploring different shapes such as triangles.

He met his wife, Rakuko Naito, during their studies at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.