ARTCOURT Gallery is thrilled to present this energetic solo exhibition that features early works by Norio Imai (b.1946- ), one of the members of Gutai Art Association. The show focuses on his activity through 1963-67, very first beginning of his career as an artist at the age of 17-22 years-old. He became a member of Gutai in 1965 by temptation of Jiro Yoshihara. Imai held the first solo exhibion when he was 17, and it caught Yoshihara's eyes. In the mid-1960s the new generation of artists including Imai joined the association and transformed Yoshihara’s commitment to originality with their works that experiment with technology and cutting-edge industrial materials. One of the critics pointed out works by the new generation who used new plastics and metals manifested a futuristic aesthetic and took the issues raised by Tanaka’s Electric Dress in a different direction. As one of the younger generation, Imai brought to Gutai a new industrial sensibility that would be further developed in the following years. Imai’s white minimalist canvases featured bulbous forms stretching out of the picture plane. The period of youth is the starting point to attain his own unique form of art, and has established the framework for the continuing success until today. We hope you enjoy his early works and feel the energy of the time.