YOSHIDA TOSHIO

• YOSHIDA TOSHIO, a painter, born in Hyogo, Japan. He joined the Gutai Art Association in 1954. He characterized himself by creating works without using a paintbrush, and in his early years he produced works with holes drilled in boards and works with burn marks on boards. In the 1960s, he expanded from works using sponges to those using bubbles.

• relevant artists

  • TSUTAKA WAICHI

    TSUTAKA WAICHI, Japanese Western-style painter and poet. His concise abstract expression is highly regarded both in Japan and abroad. He painted figurative paintings until early 1956, later he changed to abstract paintings with a distinctive poetic sentiment. In 1946, he exhibited his work at the Behavioral Arts Society Exhibition. In 1960, he exhibited at the New York Guggenheim Prize Art Exhibition. Since 1969, he had been a professor at the Department of Fine Arts, Osaka University of Arts, the following year he became an emeritus professor. Major Collections: Museum of Modern Art, New York; British Museum; Museum of Contemporary Art, Sao Paulo; National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

  • SUGAI KUMI

    SUGAI KUMI, was a Western-style painter and printmaker born in Kobe, who moved to France in 1952. Having studied Japanese painting, his works were highly acclaimed in the Paris art world for their oriental exoticism. In his early years, he painted forms reminiscent of hieroglyphs, but around 1962 his style shifted dramatically to depict geometric shapes in clear, vivid colors. Known as an avid speed enthusiast, he loved driving his Porsche at high speeds. The sights that imprinted themselves on his mind and the sensations of flowing colors while traveling at over 200 kilometers per hour often translated directly into his art, taking shape as motifs and compositions brimming with a sense of velocity.

  • ANDY WARHOL

    Andy Warhol, regarded as one of the most famous figures in 20th century art, who is the advocate and leader of Pop Art, and the artist who influenced Pop Art the most. He boldly experimented with various reproduction techniques such as letterpress printing, rubber or wood topography, gold leaf technique, and photo projection. In addition to being a leading figure in Pop Art, Warhol was a filmmaker, writer, rock music composer, publisher, and a star artist in the New York social and artistic scene.

  • IMAI TOSHIMITSU

    IMAI TOSHIMITSU, born in Kyoto, Japan, received his training at Tokyo University of the Arts. His early works were influenced by Fauvism, and in 1952, he won the Best Newcomer Award at the 15th Shinseisaku Salon. In the same year, he went to Paris to study medieval history and philosophy. In 1955, under the influence of art critic MICHEL TAPIÉ, his style shifted towards abstraction. Imai exhibited at the São Paulo Biennale in 1953, held a group exhibition in Japan in 1956, and participated in the Venice Biennale in 1960. He received the Excellence Award at the 5th Tokyo Contemporary Art Exhibition in 1962. After 1970, he began incorporating text and Japanese cultural elements into his works, eventually addressing themes such as Japan's invasion of China and World War II. Major Collections: the Ohara Museum of Art; the National Museum of Art, Osaka; and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo

  • MOTONAGA SADAMASA

    MOTONAGA SADAMASA, Japanese picture book artist and avant-garde artist. His wife is Etsuko Nakatsuji, a plastic artist. Taking the unknown nature as his creative source, he created experimental works expressing natural phenomena by using novel materials, such as hanging colored water in plastic bags and performances using smoke. Later, inspired by the tarashikomi technique of Japanese-style painting, she attracted attention with her fluid works in which paints were poured on canvas. In 1959, he exhibited his work at the Premio Lissone Exhibition (Italy), where he won a prize, and in 1961 had solo exhibitions at Tokyo Gallery and Jackson Mercer Gallery (New York). In 1965, he participated in the "New Japanese Paintings and Sculpture" exhibition at MoMA, New York, U.S.A. In 1966, he was awarded a prize for his work at the "Premio Lissone" exhibition in Italy. He received awards at the 6th, 7th, and 10th Contemporary Art Exhibitions of Japan, the 1983 Art and Culture Promotion Association Award, the Japan Art Grand Prize, and the Grand Prix at the Seoul International Print Exhibition; exhibited at the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France, 1986 "Japan in the Avant-Garde"; presented "Gutai" at the MOMA and Guggenheim Museum In 2013, attracting a great deal of attention both in Japan and abroad, and in 2015, a painting measuring less than one meter sold for nearly 100 million yen at Sotheby's.　Major Collections: The Museum of Modern Art New York, Dallas Museum of Art, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, The National Museum of Art (Osaka), The National Museum of Modern Art (Kyoto), Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art (Hyogo, Japan)