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Lot Essay
Yasuo Sumi joined the radical Gutai Art Association in 1955 to seek new innovative ways for making art. With encouragements from Shozo Shimamoto, Sumi grew more ambitious with his oil-based creative expressions, incorporating different painting techniques and tools to spark for diverse ways to express with oil. He paints with various objects, including vibrator, abacus, traditional Japanese umbrella. Unrestricted by the canvas, he also paints on different surfaces, such as paper and netting. Sumi has actively contributed to important exhibitions in both Japan and overseas, and was invited to the 45th Venice Biennale in 1993.
Sumi wrote in a piece titled My Concept of Art, "When I create my works, my feelings are a mix of yakekuso (desperation), fumajime (absence of seriousness) and charanporan (irresponsibility). Yakekuso is for me the condition of complete spiritual freedom, in which I become free from any limit and also my ability in itself becomes infinite. Fumajime is the refusal of the past. In the human society there have always been many codes, laws and rules, from the past till now. The refusal of all those rules is nothing but the future. At last, for charanporan I mean "the return to the real human shape". In other words, if the bonds of the society and those of the family did not exist, I think that in those conditions everything would be charanporan. Man by nature has a great power, and when this power is expressed with desperation, absence of seriousness and irresponsibility, it becomes the manifestation of his true form." From the writing, it is observed that freedom and release of the subconscious are critical points in his approach for art.
His art embodies the ability to inspire thoughts. Unexpected innovative expressive methods are seen in his Work (Lot 90) and Work (Lot 91). Using a wooden umbrella or an abacus to move the colours, a mechanical quality is demonstrated by the lines created because of the tools used, but guided by the artist's subconscious, the artworks are also filled with a sense of rhythm. On top of the black background of Work (Lot 90) are patterns created by Sumi with the rolling motions created with dipping an abacus in red oil paint. Within the broad curved lines are fine and balanced lines created with the rolling abacus. A dissolvent solution was then lightly dragged through the painting by the artist with a wooden rod, with the previously applied red oil paint dissolved, resulting in irregular textures. The base of the painting was also dissolved in the process, with flowing traces of black formed. Sumi's creative approach is based on the concept of subtraction rather than addition, with destructive elements also incorporated. The painting method of dissolving allows for complex layers to form with the oil, resulting in fine holes, tears, layers of oils of various thicknesses, and the mixing of different colours. Sumi once described the results of his paintings by stating that, "The result was a group of vigorous lines that, in my opinion, a man could not draw with his own strength".
Sumi wrote in a piece titled My Concept of Art, "When I create my works, my feelings are a mix of yakekuso (desperation), fumajime (absence of seriousness) and charanporan (irresponsibility). Yakekuso is for me the condition of complete spiritual freedom, in which I become free from any limit and also my ability in itself becomes infinite. Fumajime is the refusal of the past. In the human society there have always been many codes, laws and rules, from the past till now. The refusal of all those rules is nothing but the future. At last, for charanporan I mean "the return to the real human shape". In other words, if the bonds of the society and those of the family did not exist, I think that in those conditions everything would be charanporan. Man by nature has a great power, and when this power is expressed with desperation, absence of seriousness and irresponsibility, it becomes the manifestation of his true form." From the writing, it is observed that freedom and release of the subconscious are critical points in his approach for art.
His art embodies the ability to inspire thoughts. Unexpected innovative expressive methods are seen in his Work (Lot 90) and Work (Lot 91). Using a wooden umbrella or an abacus to move the colours, a mechanical quality is demonstrated by the lines created because of the tools used, but guided by the artist's subconscious, the artworks are also filled with a sense of rhythm. On top of the black background of Work (Lot 90) are patterns created by Sumi with the rolling motions created with dipping an abacus in red oil paint. Within the broad curved lines are fine and balanced lines created with the rolling abacus. A dissolvent solution was then lightly dragged through the painting by the artist with a wooden rod, with the previously applied red oil paint dissolved, resulting in irregular textures. The base of the painting was also dissolved in the process, with flowing traces of black formed. Sumi's creative approach is based on the concept of subtraction rather than addition, with destructive elements also incorporated. The painting method of dissolving allows for complex layers to form with the oil, resulting in fine holes, tears, layers of oils of various thicknesses, and the mixing of different colours. Sumi once described the results of his paintings by stating that, "The result was a group of vigorous lines that, in my opinion, a man could not draw with his own strength".