HIGHLIGHT

This work has an exceptional history, as it was originally created by Kazuo Shiraga in 1956 for the Kobe Indépendants exhibition and then remade fifty years later, in 2006, under the artist’s guidance. The Indépendants exhibition refers to a type of open, non-juried, prize-free exhibition that emerged in late 19th-century France as a counterpoint to the conservative official Salons. For many artists, including those of the Post-Impressionist period, such exhibitions provided an important space for free expression. This format eventually spread worldwide, and in Japan, the “Japan Indépendants Exhibition” was held annually from 1947. Additionally, from 1949 to 1963, the “Yomiuri Indépendants Exhibition” ran concurrently.

The original version of this work was produced in May 1956 for the “Second Section of the Kobe Indépendants Exhibition – Sculpture Section, ‘Gutai Group Room’” (sponsored by the Shinko Shimbun, held at the Shinko Shimbun 3rd-floor hall, Kobe). Notably, 1956 was an important year for Shiraga. It marked his second year as a member of the Gutai Art Association (commonly known as “Gutai”), which would later gain international recognition. From this year onward, he began to envision presentations of his works outdoors and on stage, recording action-oriented project ideas in a notebook known as the “Work Plan Notebook.” The original concept for this work is recorded there: paint was placed on paper spread out like a path, and the artist would step and jump on the paint, crushing it as he advanced forward.

The original work was not preserved. However, in 2006, during discussions with Tijs Visser, who at the time served as the exhibition director at the Kunstpalast Museum in Düsseldorf, the idea of remaking the work arose. A major challenge, however, was that Shiraga had suffered a hip fracture and was unable to perform the essential “jumping” action required to recreate the work. Consequently, the jumping was entrusted to Visser. Under the guidance of Atsuo Yamamoto, a curator at the Ashiya City Museum of Art and History in Hyogo Prefecture, the work was successfully remade for the ZONE・ZERO exhibition held in Düsseldorf.

After completion, the work was sent to Shiraga in Amagasaki and received his personal approval. On the reverse of the work, Shiraga wrote:
"This is a recreation of my work originally exhibited at the 1956 Kobe Gutai Indépendants Exhibition. In 2006, in order to exhibit it at the ZONE ZERO exhibition at the Kunstpalast Museum in Düsseldorf, the work was remade by the local staff. November 1, 2007, Kazuo Shiraga."

Subsequently, this work was exhibited with the cooperation of the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art and the Ashiya City Museum of Art and History in the Gutai exhibition Painting with Time and Space (Lugano State Museum of Art, 2010). It has also been shown in multiple museums, including the Moderna Museet in Stockholm and Joan Miró Foundation.

This work is particularly rare and significant for two reasons: it is a “recreated work,” and it was produced by another person’s body under Shiraga’s supervision. Among those involved in the production, the work has been treated with great care, with documentation including a verification letter by Takeshi Matsumoto and authentication by Shiraga himself.