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SADAMASA MOTONAGA (1922-2011)

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As a member of the legendary Gutai Art Association that flourished between 1954 and 1972, Sadamasa Motonaga emerged when post-atomic surrealist existentialism was at the forefront of artistic development in Japan. Yet he chose a different path. He turned his back on the destruction wrought by the war and created work that was fresh, jubilant, and playful. “Untitled” from 1969 is in his classic style, which developed concurrently with Morris Louis’ so-called ‘Veil’ paintings. It is a brilliantly successful display of Motonaga’s avant-garde take on traditional Japanese Tarashikomi — the technique that involves tilting the canvas at different angles to allow mixtures of resin and enamel to flow upon one another before the paint is fully dry. As a member of the legendary Gutai Art Association that flourished between 1954 and 1972, Sadamasa Motonaga emerged when post-atomic surrealist existentialism was at the forefront of artistic development in Japan. Yet he chose a different path. He turned his back on the destruction wrought by the war and created work that was fresh, jubilant, and playful. “Untitled” from 1969 is in his classic style, which developed concurrently with Morris Louis’ so-called ‘Veil’ paintings. It is a brilliantly successful display of Motonaga’s avant-garde take on traditional Japanese Tarashikomi — the technique that involves tilting the canvas at different angles to allow mixtures of resin and enamel to flow upon one another before the paint is fully dry. As a member of the legendary Gutai Art Association that flourished between 1954 and 1972, Sadamasa Motonaga emerged when post-atomic surrealist existentialism was at the forefront of artistic development in Japan. Yet he chose a different path. He turned his back on the destruction wrought by the war and created work that was fresh, jubilant, and playful. “Untitled” from 1969 is in his classic style, which developed concurrently with Morris Louis’ so-called ‘Veil’ paintings. It is a brilliantly successful display of Motonaga’s avant-garde take on traditional Japanese Tarashikomi — the technique that involves tilting the canvas at different angles to allow mixtures of resin and enamel to flow upon one another before the paint is fully dry. As a member of the legendary Gutai Art Association that flourished between 1954 and 1972, Sadamasa Motonaga emerged when post-atomic surrealist existentialism was at the forefront of artistic development in Japan. Yet he chose a different path. He turned his back on the destruction wrought by the war and created work that was fresh, jubilant, and playful. “Untitled” from 1969 is in his classic style, which developed concurrently with Morris Louis’ so-called ‘Veil’ paintings. It is a brilliantly successful display of Motonaga’s avant-garde take on traditional Japanese Tarashikomi — the technique that involves tilting the canvas at different angles to allow mixtures of resin and enamel to flow upon one another before the paint is fully dry. As a member of the legendary Gutai Art Association that flourished between 1954 and 1972, Sadamasa Motonaga emerged when post-atomic surrealist existentialism was at the forefront of artistic development in Japan. Yet he chose a different path. He turned his back on the destruction wrought by the war and created work that was fresh, jubilant, and playful. “Untitled” from 1969 is in his classic style, which developed concurrently with Morris Louis’ so-called ‘Veil’ paintings. It is a brilliantly successful display of Motonaga’s avant-garde take on traditional Japanese Tarashikomi — the technique that involves tilting the canvas at different angles to allow mixtures of resin and enamel to flow upon one another before the paint is fully dry. As a member of the legendary Gutai Art Association that flourished between 1954 and 1972, Sadamasa Motonaga emerged when post-atomic surrealist existentialism was at the forefront of artistic development in Japan. Yet he chose a different path. He turned his back on the destruction wrought by the war and created work that was fresh, jubilant, and playful. “Untitled” from 1969 is in his classic style, which developed concurrently with Morris Louis’ so-called ‘Veil’ paintings. It is a brilliantly successful display of Motonaga’s avant-garde take on traditional Japanese Tarashikomi — the technique that involves tilting the canvas at different angles to allow mixtures of resin and enamel to flow upon one another before the paint is fully dry. As a member of the legendary Gutai Art Association that flourished between 1954 and 1972, Sadamasa Motonaga emerged when post-atomic surrealist existentialism was at the forefront of artistic development in Japan. Yet he chose a different path. He turned his back on the destruction wrought by the war and created work that was fresh, jubilant, and playful. “Untitled” from 1969 is in his classic style, which developed concurrently with Morris Louis’ so-called ‘Veil’ paintings. It is a brilliantly successful display of Motonaga’s avant-garde take on traditional Japanese Tarashikomi — the technique that involves tilting the canvas at different angles to allow mixtures of resin and enamel to flow upon one another before the paint is fully dry. As a member of the legendary Gutai Art Association that flourished between 1954 and 1972, Sadamasa Motonaga emerged when post-atomic surrealist existentialism was at the forefront of artistic development in Japan. Yet he chose a different path. He turned his back on the destruction wrought by the war and created work that was fresh, jubilant, and playful. “Untitled” from 1969 is in his classic style, which developed concurrently with Morris Louis’ so-called ‘Veil’ paintings. It is a brilliantly successful display of Motonaga’s avant-garde take on traditional Japanese Tarashikomi — the technique that involves tilting the canvas at different angles to allow mixtures of resin and enamel to flow upon one another before the paint is fully dry. As a member of the legendary Gutai Art Association that flourished between 1954 and 1972, Sadamasa Motonaga emerged when post-atomic surrealist existentialism was at the forefront of artistic development in Japan. Yet he chose a different path. He turned his back on the destruction wrought by the war and created work that was fresh, jubilant, and playful. “Untitled” from 1969 is in his classic style, which developed concurrently with Morris Louis’ so-called ‘Veil’ paintings. It is a brilliantly successful display of Motonaga’s avant-garde take on traditional Japanese Tarashikomi — the technique that involves tilting the canvas at different angles to allow mixtures of resin and enamel to flow upon one another before the paint is fully dry. As a member of the legendary Gutai Art Association that flourished between 1954 and 1972, Sadamasa Motonaga emerged when post-atomic surrealist existentialism was at the forefront of artistic development in Japan. Yet he chose a different path. He turned his back on the destruction wrought by the war and created work that was fresh, jubilant, and playful. “Untitled” from 1969 is in his classic style, which developed concurrently with Morris Louis’ so-called ‘Veil’ paintings. It is a brilliantly successful display of Motonaga’s avant-garde take on traditional Japanese Tarashikomi — the technique that involves tilting the canvas at different angles to allow mixtures of resin and enamel to flow upon one another before the paint is fully dry.
Untitled196914 1/2 x 20 in.(36.83 x 50.8 cm) acrylic on board with cotton cloth
Provenance
Private Collection, 1970, acquired directly from the artist
Private Collection, Washington, DC, by descent from above

125,000

As a member of the legendary Gutai Art Association that flourished between 1954 and 1972, Sadamasa Motonaga emerged when post-atomic surrealist existentialism was at the forefront of artistic development in Japan. Yet he chose a different path. He turned his back on the destruction wrought by the war and created work that was fresh, jubilant, and playful. “Untitled” from 1969 is in his classic style, which developed concurrently with Morris Louis’ so-called ‘Veil’ paintings. It is a brilliantly successful display of Motonaga’s avant-garde take on traditional Japanese Tarashikomi — the technique that involves tilting the canvas at different angles to allow mixtures of resin and enamel to flow upon one another before the paint is fully dry.
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