In the exhibition"Around the circle", Takesada Matsutani (1937) born in Osaka and based in Paris, approaches two of the most important issues of artistic expression: the saturation of black in dialogue with opposites and the power of the circle.

 

Matsutani spent six years working in his studio, discovering the rich black colour that has dominated his paintings ever since. His studies of traditional Japanese painting and the technique of pigment and (bone glue) have led to his current use of vinyl glue and graphite.

Matsutani combines spiritual restlessness and the "performances" that defined the Gutai Group, to which he belonged in 1959 when Sadamasa Motonago put him in touch with them, along with the spaces of painting and traditional lithography. His works of variable viscosity incorporate the surface of the material by using dense and oily folds that descend from the canvas like volcanic blisters moved by the force of gravity.

The circle is an emblem of Japanese art, but Matsutani doesn’t treat it like classical calligraphers appealing to the power of gesture but by creating these subtle reliefs insisting on great detail that generate a feeling of total employment and dark space. Faced with the typical empty white space, Matsutani empties it through the fullness of absolute black. A sense of noble silence runs around the room where you can still see the remains of the opening "performance". The notion of being inside or outside the circle appears immediately, making space speak.

 

Takesada Matsutani

Takesada Matsutani

Takesada Matsutani

Takesada Matsutani