WORK 66-7

Takesada Matsutani 's true identity might be considered that of an explorer, one who continually challenged painting's forms and mediums. Matsutani's Work 66-7 (Lot 465) testifies to his experimental processes during the '60s, when he drew inspiration from samples of blood enlarged under the microscope that lent a highly organic feel to his work. Matsutani invented a unique method of responding to the essential properties of his materials: exhaling through a drinking straw into thick layers of semi-congealed pigments, they absorbed his breath in pockets and he let them expand or collapse as they would, thereby directly linking their physical nature with his inner essence. Viewers could feel the supple toughness of the membrane-like structures that formed, as they similarly do in the genre of soft sculpture.

Viewers can sense the intimate connection between the artist and his materials, and the interaction and response between the two. Physical materials are on the one hand carriers of the artist's deep, intuitive perceptions, and Matsutani at the same time presents his materials in their most authentic forms, refusing to forcibly distort them or force them to conform to his own intent. This attitude precisely reflects a statement found in the Gutai Art Association Manifesto, that if one leaves the material to show its own character, presenting it just as it is, then it starts to tell us something, and will speak with a mighty voice.