Takesada Matsutani
From the early 1960s until the 1970s Matsutani was a key member of the of the influential post war Japanese art collective, the Gutai Art Association. Over six decades Matsutani has developed a unique visual language of form and materials. As part of the Gutai group, Matsutani experimented with vinyl glue, using fans and his own breath to manipulate the substance, creating bulbous and sensuous forms reminiscent of human curves and features.
In 1966, Matsutani received a grant from the French government after winning first prize in the 1st Mainichi Art Competition and subsequently moved to Paris where he began working at Stanley William Hayter's renowned printmaking studio, Atelier 17. During the four years he worked at the studio, he learnt French, married and established his base in Paris. Working alongside Hayter opened Matsutani up to a new form of artistic experimentation and offered him a newfound confidence. Matsutani began to rethink his practice and a new elemental aesthetic language began to emerge that was both controlled and organic.
After the Gutai group disbanded in 1972, Matsutani eased into a radical yet consistent new body of work, informed by his experience at Atelier 17. Faithful to his Gutai roots, he strove to identify and convey the essential character of vinyl glue with graphite, that were to become his signature materials. Matsutani began creating vast expanses of metallic black graphite on mural-size sheets of paper built up with painstaking individual strokes. This ritualized manner presents a time-based record of his gestures, while reminiscent of his artistic beginnings in Japan, it has been translated into an artistic language that is uniquely his own.
Selected Artworks
On a slope
2021
Sharing 21-2-7
2021
Germination
2021
La propagation-Y
1967
Propagation 15-2
2015
Circle 17-11-11
2017
Blown up-15
2015
Venice Stream
2016
Untitled
1978
Cercle-91-5-22
1991
Plexiglas Box
1966
A Visual Point-A
1965
Object-Lamp
1964
Work A
1971
Work C
1972
Untitled
1971
Sky-B
1972
Both Sides-2
1971
Propagation-F
1971
A Spot
1971
Both Sides
1971
Elipse-15
2014
Goutte-15
2015
Biography
Selected Solo Exhibitions
Selected Group Exhibitions
Awards
Bibliography
Artist's Publications
Solo Exhibition Publications
Group Exhibition Publications
The Artist’s Publications
Publications
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