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Lot Essay
Painting and Porsche
"The only thing I aim for in painting is strength."– Kumi Sugai 1
Considered part of the younger generation of the Ecole de Paris (School of Paris), Japanese artist Kumi Sugai (1919-1996) was active in European art world since the 1950s. Born in Kobe, Japan in a musician family, Sugai received formal training in Western art and nihonga (Japanese traditional-style painting) in the 1930s and 1940s. Without satisfying the single-opinion dominated art scene in Japan in the 40s and 50s, Sugai has boldly moved to Paris in 1952 in search for creative freedom. His first ten years in Paris was critical stage to his career. During this period of time, Sugai took his stand as a solitary individual and progressively created a new definition of Japanese style, breaking through from Japanism constructed by the West. 2 Sugai's international recognition is demonstrated by his exhibition at Documenta, Kassel, in 1959 and 1964; Sao Paulo Biennale in 1959 and 1965; and Venice Biennale in 1962.
From a European collection, the following Kumi Sugai works from the 1940s to 1970s (Lot 476 to 484) showcase a remarkable artistic evolution, representing a complete spectrum of the artist. Particularly rare to locate in the market, the five important early works (1940s-1950s) in this collection document the original concept and its contribution to the construction of Sugai's style. Other part of this collection on Japanese art includes Kohei Nawa's Pixcell-deer #10 (Lot 24) in Evening Sale; Yoshitomo Nara, Atsushi Suwa and Kamatani Tetsutaro in Asian Contemporary Art Day Sale (Lot 172 to 176).
Encoding through Simplification
Similar to other non-French artists who worked in Paris, Sugai on one hand absorbed new art trends surrounding him, on the other hand applied, consciously and unconsciously, his personal artistic sensibility which is closely related to his cultural root.
Shifting away from the straight depiction of subject matter rich in Japanese tradition symbolic and visual reference in the 1940s (Lot 479), Sugai's painting became semi-representational and semi-abstract in the period of 1952-1956 which marks his first artistic phrase in Paris. Japanese House (Lot 479) is very rare early piece of work by Sugai painted in Japan. Painted respectively in 1952, 1954 and 1956, Femme et Oiseau (Woman and Bird) (Lot 477), L'Oiseau au Soleil Rouge (The Bird to the Red Sun) (Lot 480) and La Plage (The Beach) (Lot 476) show subjects derived from the nature which convey a sense of instinctiveness and primitiveness. Femme et Oiseau (Woman and Bird) is painted in the year, 1952, when Sugai arrived in Paris, in which a female torso and a bird are simplified into silhouette and pure form on a greyish ground. The two connected and distorted figures show the child-like intuitiveness. Sugai's primitive approach to art making, with its simple, childlike figures shows an influence from Paul Klee, a Swiss-German artist, whose works express a surreal and poetic world (fig. 1). The soft and indulgent colour tones on heavily painted ground in Sugai's works suggested his tranquil state of mind articulated by placing human and nature in harmony. The distortion and simplification of subject matter in L'Oiseau au Soleil Rouge (The Bird to the Red Sun) , 1954, became more extreme to serve the composition.
Sugai's increasing interest in non-representational style is reflected in La Plage (The Beach) . The representation of beach is purely by colour, form and motif – an irregular U-shape in cerulean blue is associated to sea or sky, together with other sessions with different colours, patterns, engraved motif, as if a fabric collage, making up a poetic imagery corresponding to lyrical nature in the work by Serge Poliakoff (fig. 2) . La Plage (The Beach) is a critical painting prior to Sugai's Oni series (1956-1962) beginning from the same year in 1956 with subject matter reduced to simple sign-like form. In fact, the red radiated lines on upper left and the rectangular U-shape are derived as the motif commonly found in Sugai's abstract work until the early 1960s.
Oni (demons in Japanese folklore) series shows one characteristic of Sugai 's work in 1956-1960 – re-examination of Japanese ancient culture and symbolic meaning. In Ko-Oni (Lot 478), the circular milky-white motif on the upper part which is similar to the Mon (emblem) identifying family in Maison Japonaise (Japanese House). The arrangement of white circle, red horizontal line and black ladder-shape form a code-like archaic form as if a transformed Asian pictograph. It is not Sugai's intention to indicate kanji, he once said, " I h ave no special interest in kanji. But I am very symmetrical in my compositions. With respect to symmetry, there may be a connection with pictographs."3 By running a brush quickly as if exercising calligraphy, the bold, coded shapes though simple, it is rich in mindful sprit and soul. The painting Kabuki (1958), Shiro (1957)(fig. 3) and Kaminari (1960), of the same period as Ko-Oni and executed in the same style, are housed at the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim and the Metropolitan Museum of Art respectively. Japanese poet contemporary with Sugai, Takashi Tsujii (Seiji Tsutsumi), who admired Sugai's art, wrote a poem entitled Variations sur les demons which might be described as very much in the style of Sugai. Oni, solitary joker, puffing through his nose, dances in the red gloom.His horns do not come off … A fantastic waltz is heard far away. Rooster, bear, tiger, spider. 4
Painting and Porsche
Later, a trip to Germany in 1960 and the acquisition of a sport car, Porsche Carrera, in 1964 contributed to Sugai's stylistic transformation from the use of concrete images formed by calligraphic brushstroke with emphasis on texture to flat, geometric forms with the appearance of signs. The trip in Germany in 1960 is the catalyst of this stylistic change. Sugai once revealed that his thinking was influenced a great deal by this contact with the custom of Germany and the rational temperament of the people. The "cold rationalism" experienced by Sugai changed his view of artistic principle – from perceiving art as the extension of personal emotion to art as a visual statement with strength. The reduction of self-indulgent is demonstrated in the minimal form as well as colour in the painting. The preservation of essential element outline a powerful graphic statement as seen in Composition (Encre Bleu) , 1963 (Lot 481) which shows three simple monochromatic geometric form – triangle, circle, rectangle – overlapping with an upward expanding tendency.
Apart from the pursuit of objectivity, whole entity is also Sugai's artistic direction, as he said, " wanted to make a body of work which could be considered as a whole, not just as a group of separate units." 4
From 1963, the body of Sugai's work is then constructed with severe straight lines and curves, characterized by complete objectivity. As a big fan of Porsche, Sugai, who never stopped driving even after serious car accident, is fascinated with speed and elements related to driving. He compressed highway and traffic signs into basic form of his visual system, like Automobile (Lot 482) and Automobile (Rouge Bleu) (Lot 483). In Festival (Rouge) (Lot 484) and Festival A.P. (Lot 485), the pattern of squares containing circles, trapezoid placed on both sides and joined by a band with diagonal stripes recalls traffic signs. Painting considered as a system constitutes part of Sugai's vision of viewing the painting as a whole than as individual units. The approach of systematic combinations of basic forms, reminiscent of machine production, proposes a new view of painting which shares similarity in the spirit of American minimalism or hard edge (fig. 4).
As art-critic Mandiargues commented, " Sugai, to his own and to our delight, brings Japanese art to a state of violent purity close to surrealism and not dissimilar to Der Blone Reiter removing its old-fashioned clothes." 5 The body of Sugai's work reflects his artistic sensibility which is cultivated by Japanese tradition, including the use of strong contrasting colours and flat surface be referenced to the printing effect and graphic design on ukiyo-e (Japanese woodblock print) (fig. 4) in Edo period. However, his way of expression of these Japanese qualities is never superficial. The creative and imaginative power of Sugai is demonstrated in vast diversity created with basic form and pure colour.
1 SUGAI Catalogue Raisonne de Loeuvre Grave 1955-96, 'Refusing Japonaiserie', Keiji Usami, Abe Publishing Ltd., Tokyo, 1996 (p. 310).
2 Same as above, p. 312.
3 SUGAI Catalogue Raisonne de loeuvre Grave 1955-96, 'The Graphic Work by Kumi Sugai', Jean-Clarence Lambert, Abe Publishing Ltd., Tokyo, 1996 (p. 9).
4 Same as above, p. 17.
5 Same as above, p. 9.
"The only thing I aim for in painting is strength."– Kumi Sugai 1
Considered part of the younger generation of the Ecole de Paris (School of Paris), Japanese artist Kumi Sugai (1919-1996) was active in European art world since the 1950s. Born in Kobe, Japan in a musician family, Sugai received formal training in Western art and nihonga (Japanese traditional-style painting) in the 1930s and 1940s. Without satisfying the single-opinion dominated art scene in Japan in the 40s and 50s, Sugai has boldly moved to Paris in 1952 in search for creative freedom. His first ten years in Paris was critical stage to his career. During this period of time, Sugai took his stand as a solitary individual and progressively created a new definition of Japanese style, breaking through from Japanism constructed by the West. 2 Sugai's international recognition is demonstrated by his exhibition at Documenta, Kassel, in 1959 and 1964; Sao Paulo Biennale in 1959 and 1965; and Venice Biennale in 1962.
From a European collection, the following Kumi Sugai works from the 1940s to 1970s (Lot 476 to 484) showcase a remarkable artistic evolution, representing a complete spectrum of the artist. Particularly rare to locate in the market, the five important early works (1940s-1950s) in this collection document the original concept and its contribution to the construction of Sugai's style. Other part of this collection on Japanese art includes Kohei Nawa's Pixcell-deer #10 (Lot 24) in Evening Sale; Yoshitomo Nara, Atsushi Suwa and Kamatani Tetsutaro in Asian Contemporary Art Day Sale (Lot 172 to 176).
Encoding through Simplification
Similar to other non-French artists who worked in Paris, Sugai on one hand absorbed new art trends surrounding him, on the other hand applied, consciously and unconsciously, his personal artistic sensibility which is closely related to his cultural root.
Shifting away from the straight depiction of subject matter rich in Japanese tradition symbolic and visual reference in the 1940s (Lot 479), Sugai's painting became semi-representational and semi-abstract in the period of 1952-1956 which marks his first artistic phrase in Paris. Japanese House (Lot 479) is very rare early piece of work by Sugai painted in Japan. Painted respectively in 1952, 1954 and 1956, Femme et Oiseau (Woman and Bird) (Lot 477), L'Oiseau au Soleil Rouge (The Bird to the Red Sun) (Lot 480) and La Plage (The Beach) (Lot 476) show subjects derived from the nature which convey a sense of instinctiveness and primitiveness. Femme et Oiseau (Woman and Bird) is painted in the year, 1952, when Sugai arrived in Paris, in which a female torso and a bird are simplified into silhouette and pure form on a greyish ground. The two connected and distorted figures show the child-like intuitiveness. Sugai's primitive approach to art making, with its simple, childlike figures shows an influence from Paul Klee, a Swiss-German artist, whose works express a surreal and poetic world (fig. 1). The soft and indulgent colour tones on heavily painted ground in Sugai's works suggested his tranquil state of mind articulated by placing human and nature in harmony. The distortion and simplification of subject matter in L'Oiseau au Soleil Rouge (The Bird to the Red Sun) , 1954, became more extreme to serve the composition.
Sugai's increasing interest in non-representational style is reflected in La Plage (The Beach) . The representation of beach is purely by colour, form and motif – an irregular U-shape in cerulean blue is associated to sea or sky, together with other sessions with different colours, patterns, engraved motif, as if a fabric collage, making up a poetic imagery corresponding to lyrical nature in the work by Serge Poliakoff (fig. 2) . La Plage (The Beach) is a critical painting prior to Sugai's Oni series (1956-1962) beginning from the same year in 1956 with subject matter reduced to simple sign-like form. In fact, the red radiated lines on upper left and the rectangular U-shape are derived as the motif commonly found in Sugai's abstract work until the early 1960s.
Oni (demons in Japanese folklore) series shows one characteristic of Sugai 's work in 1956-1960 – re-examination of Japanese ancient culture and symbolic meaning. In Ko-Oni (Lot 478), the circular milky-white motif on the upper part which is similar to the Mon (emblem) identifying family in Maison Japonaise (Japanese House). The arrangement of white circle, red horizontal line and black ladder-shape form a code-like archaic form as if a transformed Asian pictograph. It is not Sugai's intention to indicate kanji, he once said, " I h ave no special interest in kanji. But I am very symmetrical in my compositions. With respect to symmetry, there may be a connection with pictographs."3 By running a brush quickly as if exercising calligraphy, the bold, coded shapes though simple, it is rich in mindful sprit and soul. The painting Kabuki (1958), Shiro (1957)(fig. 3) and Kaminari (1960), of the same period as Ko-Oni and executed in the same style, are housed at the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim and the Metropolitan Museum of Art respectively. Japanese poet contemporary with Sugai, Takashi Tsujii (Seiji Tsutsumi), who admired Sugai's art, wrote a poem entitled Variations sur les demons which might be described as very much in the style of Sugai. Oni, solitary joker, puffing through his nose, dances in the red gloom.His horns do not come off … A fantastic waltz is heard far away. Rooster, bear, tiger, spider. 4
Painting and Porsche
Later, a trip to Germany in 1960 and the acquisition of a sport car, Porsche Carrera, in 1964 contributed to Sugai's stylistic transformation from the use of concrete images formed by calligraphic brushstroke with emphasis on texture to flat, geometric forms with the appearance of signs. The trip in Germany in 1960 is the catalyst of this stylistic change. Sugai once revealed that his thinking was influenced a great deal by this contact with the custom of Germany and the rational temperament of the people. The "cold rationalism" experienced by Sugai changed his view of artistic principle – from perceiving art as the extension of personal emotion to art as a visual statement with strength. The reduction of self-indulgent is demonstrated in the minimal form as well as colour in the painting. The preservation of essential element outline a powerful graphic statement as seen in Composition (Encre Bleu) , 1963 (Lot 481) which shows three simple monochromatic geometric form – triangle, circle, rectangle – overlapping with an upward expanding tendency.
Apart from the pursuit of objectivity, whole entity is also Sugai's artistic direction, as he said, " wanted to make a body of work which could be considered as a whole, not just as a group of separate units." 4
From 1963, the body of Sugai's work is then constructed with severe straight lines and curves, characterized by complete objectivity. As a big fan of Porsche, Sugai, who never stopped driving even after serious car accident, is fascinated with speed and elements related to driving. He compressed highway and traffic signs into basic form of his visual system, like Automobile (Lot 482) and Automobile (Rouge Bleu) (Lot 483). In Festival (Rouge) (Lot 484) and Festival A.P. (Lot 485), the pattern of squares containing circles, trapezoid placed on both sides and joined by a band with diagonal stripes recalls traffic signs. Painting considered as a system constitutes part of Sugai's vision of viewing the painting as a whole than as individual units. The approach of systematic combinations of basic forms, reminiscent of machine production, proposes a new view of painting which shares similarity in the spirit of American minimalism or hard edge (fig. 4).
As art-critic Mandiargues commented, " Sugai, to his own and to our delight, brings Japanese art to a state of violent purity close to surrealism and not dissimilar to Der Blone Reiter removing its old-fashioned clothes." 5 The body of Sugai's work reflects his artistic sensibility which is cultivated by Japanese tradition, including the use of strong contrasting colours and flat surface be referenced to the printing effect and graphic design on ukiyo-e (Japanese woodblock print) (fig. 4) in Edo period. However, his way of expression of these Japanese qualities is never superficial. The creative and imaginative power of Sugai is demonstrated in vast diversity created with basic form and pure colour.
1 SUGAI Catalogue Raisonne de Loeuvre Grave 1955-96, 'Refusing Japonaiserie', Keiji Usami, Abe Publishing Ltd., Tokyo, 1996 (p. 310).
2 Same as above, p. 312.
3 SUGAI Catalogue Raisonne de loeuvre Grave 1955-96, 'The Graphic Work by Kumi Sugai', Jean-Clarence Lambert, Abe Publishing Ltd., Tokyo, 1996 (p. 9).
4 Same as above, p. 17.
5 Same as above, p. 9.