Gutai

Jirō YOSHIHARA (B. 1905, OSAKA; D. 1972, ASHIYA) Jirō Yoshihara was born in Osaka in 19 05 to a wealthy family who owned Yoshihara Oil Mill, a leading edibleoil business. Coming of age before the war, Yoshihara was drawn to modern art and discourse, reading avidly about Post-Impressionism, Cubism, Surrealism, and geometric abstraction. In 1928, he studied commerce at Kwansei Gakuin Commercial College to prepare himself for a role in the family business but instead became absorbed in painting. He was mostly self-taught, with yōga artist Kamiyama Jirō eventually serving as a mentor. In 1937, he submitted a number of surrealistic paintings to the annual exhibition of Nika-kai, the largest artists’ organization of yōga of the time, of which he became a full member in 1941. He helped establish an avant-garde subgroup of Nika-kai, called Kyūshitsu-kai, in 1939.

Yoshihara became one of the most influential figures in postwar Japanese art, contributing to the emerging public and private art associations of the Kansai region, including the Ashiya City Art Association in 19 48 and Genbi in 1953. He was also an influential art critic, contributing regularly to such journals as Kirin and Boubi, as weel as to national newspapers, and was the driving force behind and editor of the Gutai journal. In 1954, Yoshihara founded the Gutai Art Association with sixteen initial members. Surviving until his death in 1972, the group eventually totaled fifty-nine members who spanned two generations of artists. As the leader of Gutai, Yoshihara conceived, organized, and largely funded its legendary events and is famous for his mandate to create original and innovative art: “Do what has never been done before!” He also led Gutai’s essential commitment to internationalism, forgoing relationships and networks with avant-garde artists, critics, and curators on five continents. He produced experimental and interactive sculptures for the Outdoor Gutai Art Exhibitions of 1955 and 1956, including works using electric light.

In painting, Yoshihara experimented with various modernist styles before maturing as a gestural abstract painter in the early 1950s. In the early 1960s, he developed a series of works titled Circle, comprising large circles painted on a monochrome background. Although the resembled unicursal drawings (made without lifting the brush), Yoshihara’s seemingly calligraphic circles were carefully crafted in oil paint, creating a rich theoretical statement regarding the relationship between calligraphy and oil painting.