WHAT

This group exhibition focusing on Japanese contemporary art highlights the works of some of the most significant artists within the genre. A majority of the works are considered part of the pioneering art that came about the era of liberation and the post-war era. After World War II, many artists began to question conventional rules and challenge the norms within art, leading to the birth of Informel, which originated in France during the 40s and 50s. It purses the spontaneity and freedom in art expression and experiments with a surrealistic approach.

WHY

Toshimitsu Imai and Hisao Domoto brought the idea of Informel to Japan in 1953, which created the Informel whirlwind that was to take over the Japanese art scene. This gave rise to Gutai, which aimed to go beyond abstraction and to pursue enthusiastically the possibilities of pure creativity. In the exhibition, artworks of the two female Gutai members, Atsuko Tanaka and Yuko Nasaka, are presented. Their admission to the Gutai Art Association reflected its gender awareness, which confronted the gender subjectivity and low status of female artists at that time.