Tenkosei Kaosho 1962

Curator: We're looking at Kazuo Shiraga’s “Tenkosei Kaosho,” created in 1962. It's an oil painting very much in the Gutai spirit. What are your initial thoughts? Editor: Raw energy, primarily. A visceral explosion rendered in deep reds and blacks. There’s a frantic quality to it. The color seems both aggressive and… primordial. Curator: Yes, aggressive. Shiraga was part of the Gutai group, a radical postwar movement in Japan that challenged traditional artmaking. They valued action, gesture, and the materiality of paint itself. Shiraga, famously, would often paint with his feet, suspending himself over the canvas. Editor: Knowing that context deepens the sensation of violence. It’s no longer just about the symbolic value of the colours. The red can be linked with fire, passion, and vitality. I also notice the linear slashes, white and grey, moving dynamically around. Were these parts created with bare feet too? Curator: Likely. This wasn't about refined brushwork. It was about direct physical engagement, almost a ritualistic dance with the materials. Gutai artists sought to break down the barrier between artist, material, and artwork. It shows a fascinating dialogue between Abstract Expressionism and pre-modern art movements. Editor: Ritualistic… that word resonates. The image evokes creation myths—chaos before order. And yet, within this apparent disorder, a rhythm and a strange harmony emerge, maybe due to how its gesture interacts with other forms, almost fighting against each other, perhaps against the background. The chaotic brushstrokes bring together cultural symbols with basic, primordial gestures and patterns. Curator: Precisely. This piece demonstrates how labor, performance, and the properties of the medium come together to create something more than just an image. It is about an immediate gesture of paint over a flat material with great intentionality and meaning Editor: "Tenkosei Kaosho". When we recognize those symbolic depths, those cultural links embedded even in pure abstraction, a work like this ceases to be just aesthetic. Curator: It becomes a record of a performative act. And an incredible example of mid-century avant-garde exploration into materiality and action. Editor: Absolutely, a captivating dance between form, color, and the raw energy of creation, as well as tradition and modernity, as brought together in Japanese identity.