Founder and mentor of Gutai Art Association, Japanese postwar avant-garde group: GUTAI pursued the way of innovative art by appealing direct on materiality itself. Its slogan is known as “Don’t copy anyone”. In 1960, Yoshihara creates a number of works composed of a bold circle spread over a plane background of canvas. The artist develops this motif in his own exquisite way and becomes to be highly appreciated from overseas. The innovativeness of Yoshihara’s circle is its no philosophical meaning. It is only chosen for convenience. Yoshihara goes far in liberating art from any stereotypes and he has kept absolute influence on GUTAI members.
JIRO YOSHIHARA
JIRO YOSHIHARA
Jiro Yoshihara was the founder and mentor of the Gutai Art Association, a Japanese post-war avant-garde group. Gutai pursued the way of innovative art by appealing directly to materiality itself – famous for their slogan ‘Don't copy anyone.’ In 1960, Yoshihara created several works composed of a bold circle spread over a plain canvas background. The artist developed this motif in his own exquisite way, which later became highly appreciated overseas. Yoshihara's circle was chosen not for any complex philosophical meaning but for its common usage in various circumstances, reflecting the innovativeness of his circle. Yoshihara played a crucial role in liberating art from stereotypes and maintained a significant influence over Gutai members.
ARTWORKS
NEWS
ARTICLES
MAJOR EXHIBITIONS, COLLECTIONS
IMAGES
"Untitled" 25.5cm × 33.5cm, Undated
"Circle" 45.5 × 53.0 cm, 1971