YASUO SUMI

Whitestone Gallery Singapore is pleased to announce Harmony in Chaos: A Peek Into The Mind of Yasuo Sumi, the very first solo exhibition by the late pioneering Japanese artist to be held in Singapore. From works as early as the 1950s, this exhibition will showcase the various stages and events in Sumi’s career – from his participation in the Gutai Art Association to the discovery of a painting technique using an abacus and the subsequent developments that took his art activities around the world. It becomes evident that Sumi embodied a distinctly free-spirited outlook on life, a quality that resonates profoundly in his canvases. At a time when Japan’s way of thinking saw salvation in hard work and goal-oriented pursuits, and applied that thinking to the field of art, Sumi diverged from convention, pioneering an artistic stance that defied conventional norms. His motto ‘yakekuso (desperation), fumajime (absence of seriousness), charanporan (irresponsibility)’, epitomised his bold departure from established paradigms, shaping his avant-garde artistry for over 50 years.