YOSHIHARA JIRO Bird

• LOT

  820

• Artist

  YOSHIHARA JIRO ( 1905 - 1972 )

• Estimate

  800,000 - 1,600,000 40,000 - 80,000 42,105 - 84,211 160,000 - 320,000 5,333 - 10,667

  JPY RMB HKD TWD USD

• Result

  JPY2,300,000

• Details

  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)　

• Organizer

  Jo's Auction

• Auction

  Jo’s Auction Autumn Auction of Art Works 2025

• Catalog

  Contemporary Art/Modern&Post-War Art

• Date

  2025/10/23