YASUO SUMI: Harmony in Chaos

Beijing

2025.03.29 - 05.10

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.

Sumi is known for using unconventional tools such as the soraban (Japanese abacus) and a paper bangasa (traditional umbrella). Other times, he would stick paper on top of a mosquito net and paint with a vibrating mechanism. For Sumi, the messier the work is, the closer it is to the unconscious mind. Therefore, Sumi’s work is full of the tension of life in movement, resembling a chaotic universe or rustic landscape.

Untitled SY-446

1997
Oil on canvas
94.3 × 95.3 cm

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Untitled SY-447

1997
Oil on canvas
94.7 × 94.2 cm

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Untitled SY-443

1998
Oil on canvas
94.6 × 94.8 cm

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Untitled SY-441

1993
Oil on canvas
94.6 × 94.8 cm

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Work SY-15

1991-95-97
Oil on canvas
193.8 × 130.3 cm

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Untitled SY-435

1965
Oil on canvas
94.7 × 94.7 cm

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Untitled SY-450

1978
Oil on canvas
89.3 × 61.0 cm

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Untitled SY-432

1988
Oil on canvas
97.0 × 95.0 cm

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Dynamic in the red

1980-1984
Oil, lacquer spray on canvas
91.0 × 116.7 cm

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Untitled SY-53

1950
Oil on canvas
145.5 × 112.0 cm

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Art has the power to overturn concepts. Art that doesn’t upset anything is meaningless.

Yasuo Sumi

Untitled SY-73

2014
Oil on canvas
116.7 × 80.3 cm

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Work SY-385

2012
Oil on canvas
45.5 × 38.0 cm

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Work SY-392

2012
Oil on canvas
45.5 × 38.0 cm

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Work SY-396

2012
Oil on canvas
45.5 × 38.0 cm

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Work SY-386

Undated
Oil on canvas
45.5 × 38.0 cm

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Yasuo Sumi has always explored the boundaries of art with an unrestrained creative attitude, constructing a unique visual language between chaos and order, intuition and reason. We invite you to enter his art world, to experience a visual feast full of tension and free spirit, and to discover the beauty of artistic harmony in chaos.

Untitled SY-128

1990-2000
Ink on paper
104.0 × 41.5 cm

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Untitled SY-130

1990-2000
Oil, Ink on paper
103.0 × 50.0 cm

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Untitled SY-P-80

1978
Ink on paper
18.3 × 25.7 cm

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ABOUT

YASUO SUMI

YASUO SUMI

Yasuo Sumi started painting while working as a high school teacher alongside Shozo Shimamoto, one of the founding members of the Gutai Art Association. While utilizing the soroban (abacus), initially known as a tool for teaching mathematics, Sumi stumbled upon a delightful revelation: painting and rolling the soroban onto paper produced a strikingly beautiful pattern. After this discovery, the soroban became a key aspect of Sumi’s technique, in addition to using traditional Japanese umbrellas and even vibrators to create patterns. Sumi joined the Gutai group in 1955 and exhibited his works at each subsequent Gutai exhibition until the group’s dissolution. His numerous improvisational creations reflected his three principles: yakekuso (desperation), fumajime (irreverence), and charanporan (irresponsibility). Jiro Yoshihara, the leader of Gutai, praised this philosophy. Like his contemporary, Shozo Shimamoto, Sumi presented artworks in many exhibitions in Europe and the United States and gained popularity, particularly in Italy.

YASUO SUMI: Harmony in Chaos
2025.03.29 - 05.10

BEIJING

Sevenstar Street (E.), 798 Art District, No.4 Jiuxianqiao Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100015, China
Tel: +86 10 59920796
Opening Hours: 11:00 - 18:00
Closed: Sunday, Monday
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