Motonaga Sadamasa was one of the leading artists of the Kansai-based avant-garde art group known as the Gutai Art Association. He joined the group in 1955, the year after it was formed, and from around 1958 he began creating paintings inspired by tarashikomi, a technique from traditional Japanese-style painting in which paint is applied and then, while it is still wet, a different colored paint is dripped on top of it to create accidental tones. In this work, the results of the paint bleeding and blurring with other colors are clear to see, giving the otherwise static image a sense of movement. In 1966, Motonaga spent a year in New York and began using an airbrush, leading to a significant change in his style. However, this work and another piece in the museum's collection are thought to date from before that time. (HIBINO Miyon)
Motonaga Sadamasa was one of the leading artists of the Kansai-based avant-garde art group known as the Gutai Art Association. He joined the group in 1955, the year after it was formed, and from around 1958 he began creating paintings inspired by tarashikomi, a technique from traditional Japanese-style painting in which paint is applied and then, while it is still wet, a different colored paint is dripped on top of it to create accidental tones. In this work, the results of the paint bleeding and blurring with other colors are clear to see, giving the otherwise static image a sense of movement. In 1966, Motonaga spent a year in New York and began using an airbrush, leading to a significant change in his style. However, this work and another piece in the museum's collection are thought to date from before that time.
(HIBINO Miyon)