The first solo show of a Gutai artist in North America. A leading figure in postwar Japanese art and a founding member of the Gutai group of avant-garde artists, Tanaka explores issues that dominated the 1960s, such as the expressive limits of the body, the use of technology, and the notion of interactivity.
First Wednesday Salons
Please join Grey Art Gallery director Lynn Gumpert for the Grey's "First Wednesday Salons," informal gatherings held from 6 to 8 pm on the first Wednesday of each month that the gallery is open to the public.
Presented by New York University's Grey Art Gallery, Electrifying Art: Atsuko Tanaka, 1954-1968 is the first solo show of a Gutai artist in North America. A leading figure in postwar Japanese art and a founding member of the Gutai group of avant-garde artists, Tanaka explores issues that dominated the 1960s, such as the expressive limits of the body, the use of technology, and the notion of interactivity. Staging exhibitions outside traditional spaces and creating proto-Happening performance pieces, Gutai artists radically extended the notion of painting and, indeed, the definition of art itself.
The exhibition is co-organized by the Grey Art Gallery and The Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery at The University of British Columbia.
Electrifying Art: Atsuko Tanaka 1954-1968 remains on view through December 11, 2004.
Lecture: Atelier and Collaboration in Japanese Art: History, Theory, and Practice
Thursday, October 14, 2004, 6:30 pm
New York University, Silver Center, Room 300 (enter at 32 Waverly Place)
(Photo i.d. required for entrance to the building)
For centuries, the work of artists (painters, sculptors, lacquerers, potters) in Japan was defined by group practice through family ateliers and guilds, as well as loose associations formed around common thematic interests. Matthew McKelway, Assistant Professor of Fine Arts, NYU, will sketch a brief history of Japanese artists' guilds from the seventeenth century to the present, focusing on shifting tensions between innovation and tradition, the use of written manifestoes, and the crucial role of artists' collaboration.
Free of charge, no reservations, seating is limited. Co-sponsored by the Fine Arts Society and the Grey Art Gallery.
Grey Art Gallery
New York University
100 Washington Square East
New York, NY