WHAT WE KNOW

Takesada Matsutani was born in Osaka, Japan in 1937 and has lived in Paris since 1966. During the war, Matsutani suffered from tuberculosis, followed by 8 years of isolation in bed. Those difficult times shaped Matsutani’s persistence and optimism, guiding him to become one of the youngest artists in Japan’s post-war collective in the early 1960s – the Gutai Art Association.

WHY WE LOVE IT

First inspired by blood samples he had viewed under a microscope in the 1960s, Matsutani began to develop his signature style of circular, bubble-like forms from blobs of vinyl glue. Matsutani’s unusual and unique relationship with vinyl glue has extended to using fans and his own breath to manipulate the substance, creating bulbous and sensuous forms reminiscent of human curves and features.

This is the 1^st time his works are featured in a solo exhibition in Hong Kong, organised with Olivier Renaud-Clément. This is a great opportunity to have a close-up experience with Matsutani’s practice along with a set of works on paper as well as other installations, many of them being his recent creations in quarantine. The show includes an important site-specific installation from the artist’s archive.