Yasuo Sumi joined the Gutai group of artists in 1955 and, in keeping with the group’s ideas, experimented with various unusual painting tools. He applied paint to the canvas with everyday objects such as a comb, but also tried using vibrating motors (such as vibrators). The Japanese artist worked for over four years on the painting which is now part of the Reinhard Ernst Collection. In this case, he used a Japanese abacus, a so-called ‘soroban’, as a painting tool. The traces of the individual wooden beads run clearly through the impasto paint and can be seen over the entire surface of the painting. The word ‘soroban’ became synonymous with Sumi’s technique of applying paint with various everyday objects.
Yasuo Sumi (1925–2015)
Work, 1958–1962
Currently exhibited: No
Material: Mixed media on canvas
Size: 162 x 130.5 cm
Inv-Nr.: B_471
Keywords:
Previous owner: Unknown; Sotheby’s, Hong Kong Gallery, Hongkong, 2015
Acquisition: Reinhard Ernst Collection, SBI Art Auction, Tokyo, 2019
The Japanese artist group Gutai occupies a special place in the Reinhard Ernst Collection. Yasuo Sumi joined the Gutai group in 1955 and, in keeping with the its ideas, experimented with various unusual painting tools. He applied paint to the canvas with everyday objects such as a comb, but also tried using vibrating motors (such as vibrators). Regarding his search for the offbeat in his work, Sumi said: ‘Beauty is only something superficial for me. I look for what is dirty, because it has never been spoiled. It is a great, untouched goldmine which has remained undiscovered, and now I am extracting its sparkling riches. With every step in this discovery, I am moved by its immaculate purity.’ [1]
The Japanese artist worked for over four years on the painting which is now part of the Reinhard Ernst Collection. In this case, he used a Japanese abacus, a so-called ‘soroban’, as a painting tool. The traces of the individual wooden beads run clearly through the impasto paint and can be seen over the entire surface of the painting. The word ‘soroban’ became synonymous with Sumi’s technique of applying paint with various everyday objects.
The Osaka-born artist first earned a doctorate in economics in 1950 and then worked as a mathematics teacher. While painting with artist friend Shōzō Shimamoto, he discovered by chance that the abacus was not only a useful tool in the classroom, but also left impressive traces of paint on the canvas. After joining Gutai, Sumi regularly presented his work in the group’s exhibitions and contributed to a large number of international shows in Europe and the United States.
[1] Yasuo Sumi in the magazine Notizie, Turin, April 1959, p. 13f., quoted in Gutai: Japanische Avantgarde, 1954–1965, ed. by Barbara Bertozzi and Klaus Wolbert, Darmstadt 1991, p. 435.
