HISAO DOMOTO | Untitled

signed in Japanese and English, dated 1967 and inscribed NY on the reverse

Nantenshi Gallery, Japan
Acquired from the above by the present owner

This work is in good condition overall. Minor cracks to the impasto are noted, primarily in the top corners, which are all stable and secure. On the impasto peaks, slight discoloration of the varnish layer is observed. Occasional fine scratches and scuff marks are noted, and a circular craquelure network is noted on the blue section on the right, visible only under close examination. A small loss is observed in the red pigment near the lower right edge of the blue circle. No restoration apparent under UV light examination. Framed.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

In 1966-167, Hisao Domoto moved to New York City for a year to prepare for a solo exhibition at the Martha Jackson Gallery. During this stimulating period working and living in the new world capital of art, Domoto began creating works of a new style, marking yet another new turning point in his prolific and acclaimed career. Having recently represented Japan at the Venice Biennale in 1964, winning the Prix Arthur Lejwa (the first recipient of the award aged 40 years or younger), Domoto did not cease his quest for experimentation and renewal. Works in the mid-1960s feature a recurrent pattern reminiscent of tire tracks with an emphasis on primary colors, bearing a strong sense of materiality; and yet, when compared to the mere materiality of Antoni Tapies, Alberto Burri, etc., Domoto's creations forge a sublime tension between physicality and composition. A stark contrast from his earlier lyrical gestural compositions during his Informel period in Paris, these new works are yet another startling demonstration of Domoto's daring originality. The artist remarked on the paintings in this series: "In 1964, I started thinking of myself not as a Japanese person but as someone who had to have a form of my own, and I was searching for that". From 1966 onwards he began employing more geometric shapes, and began working with circles starting from 1967, paving the way for his later works in Japan in which circles were the major structural elements. Created in the special year in which the artist resided in New York in 1967 before returning home to Japan that same year, the present work features both the iconic tire track and circle motifs. 1967 was a major turning point in the artist's career - the year in which he closed his atelier in Paris and returned to Tokyo. In the artist's words: "For me, Paris was a place for thinking. New York was a place to work. Tokyo was a place to have a good time."