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“Let’s create some strange and weird things.” – 元永 定正

“Let’s create some strange and weird things.” – Motonaga Sadamasa

Sadamasa Motonaga (元永 定正, 1922-2011), a founding member of Japan’s post-World-War-II crucible of abstraction, the Gutai Art Association (具体美術協会 Gutai Bijutsu Kyōkai), reaffirmed the Gutai artists’ use of “all possible techniques and materials in their creations”.

Motonaga mastered the use of spray painting techniques while in New York on a grant from 1966 to 1967.

In the 1970s he created lively and varied two-dimensional images, a modern take on the Ukiyo-e characteristics of Japan’s Edo period, selecting organic and mobile qualities, some from everyday life, as visual elements.

The artist once observed how

“this type of form and colour execution is inspired by nocturnal views from Mount Rokko near the city of Kobe, Japan.

“The neon light that outlines the mountains’ contours appears as if in a dreamscape and renders an effect of motion.

“The painting style of hard-edged, clear flowing lines in a twisting form exhibits a human-like appearance but has the dynamics of water, like a coiled up or continuously rotating and extending organism that leads the viewer’s gaze to wander along the arc of the curve.”

Sadamasa Motonaga’s “Tapa Tapa” sold at Christie’s Hong Kong in November 2015 for nearly five times the high estimate.

Explore the work of Sadamasa Motonaga during this week’s Art Basel at Natalie Seroussi and at Tokyo Gallery+BTAP (Beijing Tokyo Art Projects) (東京画廊+BTAP).

 

See: “Asian 20th Century & Contemporary Art (Evening Same),” Lot 35, “Tapa Tapa“, Christie’s Hong Kong, 28 November 2015.

 

 

#art #artmarket #arthistory #sadamasamotonaga #gutai #japan #tokyo #kobe #mountrokko #natalieseroussi #tokyogalleryBTAP #contemporaryart #abstraction #collection #collector #newyork #london #oslo #vienna #milan #dubai #asia #hongkong #artadvisory #artconsultancy #interiordesign #design #architecture #realestatedevelopment

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Gutai masterpiece ・ Sadamasa Motonaga’s “Work 145” of 1964

Art Basel opens in Switzerland next week.

London-based Alexandre Carel, former Christie’s Paris wunderkind, Stanford MBA, summer intern in real estate at New York-based, global investment firm KKR (Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts; KKR manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit and, through its strategic partners, hedge funds),

and Paris-based gallery Natalie Seroussi are collaborating to curate a booth

exploring post-war Asian and European abstraction.

Carel and Seroussi’s catalogue “Lands of Abstraction,” prepared for their Art Basel joint exhibition, explores abstract movements that arose almost simultaneously in Asia, Europe, and the United States – all of which “matured in parallel to one another.”

Among the many masterpieces on view will be Sadamasa Motonaga’s almost nine-foot “Work 145” of 1964. Asking price: $5 million.

Sadamasa Motonaga (元永 定正, 1922-2011) was a founding member of Japan’s Gutai Art Association (1954-1972).

His “Work 145” of 1964, last shown in New York at the Guggenheim Museum during the 2013 exhibition “Gutai: Splendid Playground,” reflects Gutai’s deep connection to nature, the process of art making, and life-affirming rationale

Carel and Seroussi write:

“Literally translated as ‘concreteness,’ Gutai’s intention was to impart life to matter and reach pure creativity.

“To artists such as Sadamasa Motonaga …, this goal could only be attained by way of a deep connection between the artist’s hand and his spirit.”

See:

  1. “Massive Motonaga Stars at Carel & Seroussi Booth at Art Basel,” Marion Maneker, Art Market Monitor, 5 June 2018;
  2. 2) “Lands of Abstraction,” Natalie Seroussi Galerie, Paris & Alexandre Carel, London, Art Basel Highlights, June 2018

 

 

#art #arthistory #artmarket #artbasel #gutai #guggenheim #guggenheimmuseum #postwarabstraction #abstraction #japan #natalieseroussi #alexandrecarel #stanford #stanforduniversity #mba #collection #portfolio #collectionsdevelopment #environmentalcollectionsmanagement #co2 #nature #basel #newyork #london #paris #zurich #milan #dubai #hongkong #tokyo #seoul #asia #europe #tech #luxury #design #realestatedevelopment #entrepreneur #investments #investor #privateequity #energy #infrastructure #realestate #credit #hedgefunds