Sakuhin 1958

Sadamasa Motonaga made this artwork, Sakuhin, with paint to create the image you see here. It’s all about letting go, you know? Like, what happens if you just let the colors bleed and drip? The materiality of this piece is where it gets interesting. The paint isn't trying to be anything but itself. Check out how the red sort of pools and stains, then drips down, thin as anything. It's like he's just saying, “Here’s the paint, see what it does.” It's kind of beautiful, right? Especially the contrast with that blob of yellow, sitting all bright and perky at the top, against the more melancholic blacks and reds. Motonaga, like Helen Frankenthaler, was all about pushing paint around, seeing what happens. It's a kind of experimentation that embraces the unpredictable. And, you know, that's what makes art cool – it's not about having all the answers, but about asking good questions.