PRIMA RETROSPETTIVA IN FRANCIA DA BONHAMS DI SHOZO SHIMAMOTO
11 – 17 ottobre 2024
Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr, 6 avenue Hoche, Paris
Parigi – Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr esporrà una selezione di opere del membro del gruppo Gutai Shōzō Shimamoto (1928-2013) durante la settimana di Art Basel Paris 2024. La mostra, intitolata Shōzō Shimamoto: La poésie du geste, sarà la prima retrospettiva dedicata all’artista che si terrà in Francia e presenterà opere che ripercorrono il lavoro del maestro giapponese dal 1950 fino alle ultime performance in Italia dal 2008 al 2011.
Shōzō Shimamoto (1928-2013), Untitled, 1960 183×138 cm
Press release
SHOZO SHIMAMOTO: LA POÉSIE DU GESTE
FIRST RETROSPECTIVE IN FRANCE AT BONHAMS
A unique exhibition of unseen works by a member of the Gutai group
On view from 11 to 17 October
11 octobre 2024 | 10h – 18h
14 – 17 octobre 2024 | 10h – 18h
Paris – Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr will be exhibiting a selection of works by Gutai group member Shōzō Shimamoto (1928-2013), during the week of Art Basel Paris this year. Entitled Shōzō Shimamoto : La poésie du geste, this selling exhibition will be the first retrospective dedicated to the artist to take place in France and will be featuring works from 1950 (the pre-Gutai period), through the famous Gutai period (1954-1972), to the artist’s last performances in Italy from 2008 to 2011. Some of these works will be exhibited for the first time. The Gutai group was founded in Japan in the 1950s and was best known for a broad range of experimental art forms, often combining painting withperformance. The pair of shoes used by the artist during one of his last performances will also be on view. The exhibition will feature a particularly strong selection of works, including a standout oil and plaster on canvas by Shōzō Shimamoto (1928-2013), Untitled from 1960 (estimate on request). Additional highlights include Punta Campanella 44, 2008 (estimate on request) and Bottle Crash, 2011 (200 x 185 cm), acrylic on fabric and glass (estimate on request). During the 1950s and 60s, Shozo Shimamoto explored the boundaries of painting by throwing bottles onto large-scale canvasses, applying layers of thick matter on them, and perforating the paper canvas, giving way to his Ana (Holes) series. The hole works that he began prior to his participation and membership in the influential Japanese avant-garde group, Gutai Art Association, are particularly significant. At approximately the same time, Italian artist Lucio Fontana began making perforations in the canvas to restore the picture plane to three dimensions, or create a new spatial depth. Shimamoto conceived his painting as holes, breaking through layers of glued newspapers to achieve this effect. A few years later, following his encounter with French art critic Michel Tapié and his growing interest in art informel, Shimamoto created several works in this style. These became some of his most pivotal pieces, marking a transition to a Tapié-inspired approach that emphasized materiality and rough surfaces, while still referencing his earlier Ana experiments with punched newspaper.