The appearance of geometric abstraction in Japan is believed to have been prompted by visits to Japan by Russian artists (in the 1920s) and Tomoyoshi Murayama's residence in Berlin (in 1922-23). It was the emergence of these new artistic movements in the Taisho era that prompted Yoshishige Saito, influenced by Russian Constructivism and Dadaism, to begin working in geometric abstraction. While Saito’s early geometric works were lost in the war, they were recreated in 1978 for an exhibition at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. It can have been no coincidence that the artists who assisted the recreation process were the Mono-ha artists who studied under Saito at Tama Art University, such as Nobuo Sekine, Susumu Koshimizu and Katsuro Yoshida. When we look at the path taken by the Mono-ha movement in and after the 1970s we can see the influence brought to bear by Saito, a trailblazer in the field of geometric abstraction.

Because of the way Japanese modern art attempted to break away from established forms of expression, it is often associated with expressionist movements such as Art Informel. In order to gain a more three-dimensional understanding of movements such as Mono-ha and Gutai, however, it is important for us to see these movements not in the context of a simultaneous global modern movement, but as part of a Japanese lineage that dates back to the prewar period.

"Geometric Perspectives on Japanese Abstraction" showcases a recreation of "Counter-Relief" by leading Russian avant-garde artist Vladimir Tatlin, in addition to works by Yoshishige Saito, Horiuchi Masakazu, Jiro Takamatsu and Kishio Suga as it examines the tradition of geometric expression in modern Japanese art.

Exhibiting works by: Vladimir Tatlin (Martyn Chalk), Yoshishige Saito, Masakazu Horiuchi, Jiro Takamatsu, Kishio Suga

-TOKYO GALLERY +BTAP

Image: © Masakazu Horiuchi
Courtesy of the artist and TOKYO GALLERY +BTAP