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YOSHIHARA JIRO ( 1905 - 1972 )
Members only
oil on canvas framed 1953
signed and dated on the reverse of the frame
Provenance: Tokyo Gallery, Ginza
1953 marked a major turning point in the artistic career of Yoshihara Jiro. The previous year, he won a prize at the Pittsburgh International Exhibition of Contemporary Painting and Sculpture, and in the following year, 1954, he co-founded the "Japan Abstract Art Club" together with Hasegawa Saburo, Yamaguchi Takeo, and others. Within this trajectory, his engagement with Abstract Expressionism deepened further, laying the groundwork for the establishment of the "Gutai Art Association" with 15 younger Kansai-based artists. The works painted in this year reveal a striking departure from his earlier abstract style, characterized by a more powerful brushstroke and vivid contrasts of color. The dynamic strokes that fill the canvas visualize inner energy, presenting a distinctive style in which Western Abstract Expressionism and an Eastern sensibility merge. Positioned in the transitional phase just before the founding of Gutai, these works stand as significant achievements that not only demonstrate technical sophistication but also foreshadow the direction of subsequent avant-garde movements.
YOSHIHARA JIRO is a Japanese abstract painter and businessman. In 1954, he founded the Gutai Art Association, the leading artistic movement in the postwar Kansai region. The following year, he held the first exhibition, and until 1968, he held 21 exhibitions of Gutai art not only in Japan but also in New York and Turin, becoming a part of the international art movement. He often said not to inherit modern paintings or imitate others, but create something that no one has ever done before. His philosophy led to the creation of many artists, including SHIRAGA KAZUO and MOTONAGA SADAMASA. He is best known for his works featuring circles, such as large white circles painted on a black background.
Major Collections: National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto; The National Museum of Art, Osaka; Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo; Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art; The Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura & Hayama; Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art and Design; Ohara Museum of Art; and Nakanoshima Museum of Art, Osaka
32.9×24.2cm
(12 ⅞ × 9 ½ in.)(F4)
2025/10/23
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