KAZUO SHIRAGA, SHOZO SHIMAMOTO

As the co-founder of Gutai, the publisher of Gutai Bulletin, and later as the leader of AU (Art Unidentified), Shozo Shimamoto (1928–2013) was committed to establishing a network with international artists. Appropriating the developing art theory of the 1960s Abstract Expressionism and Ephemeral Art, Shimamoto’s practice often involved smashing and throwing vases and bottles filled with paint on the canvas, referred to as action painting. Like other avant-garde movements of the post-war era, the rejection of the painting and representational forms within art was a significant leitmotif for the Gutai group. Shimamoto’s destructive intervention with the canvas perfectly embodied the spirit of the movement, which favored concept over form, seeking to expand the notion of art beyond the boundaries of traditional painting, and his practice was furthermore fundamentally shaped by action painting. He says what draws the audience’s attention is what contains ‘unknown beauty.’ Thus he repeated formative experiments in search of new art within non-art. The essence in the art of Shimamoto, which can be understood as the trace of Action itself, ultimately embodies the spirit of Gutai and contributes to attracting international attention to the Japanese contemporary art scene.