![]() ![]() Soon, graphite became a notable body of his work, with Matsutani creating vast expanses of graphite on mural-size sheets of paper. Lacking room to continue experimenting with vinyl glue, in the 1970s, Matsutani simplified his practice, turning to graphite pencil and paper and exploring the many surfaces that could emerge from accumulating repetitive and successive individual strokes-a highly physical as much as artistic ritualized labor. “There I connected with Stanley William Hayter and began practicing engraving and silkscreening at his renowned printmaking studio Atelier 17,” he explains. Three years later, his now-signature vinyl work was awarded first prize at the Franco-Japanese Mainichi Art competition, which sent him off to Paris on a six-month scholarship sponsored by the French government. By breathing new life into the material-a principle central to Gutai-he transformed a commonplace substance into something organic, between painting and sculpture, impressing the group and achieving full membership by 1963. By pouring the adhesive to a canvas, letting it partially dry to form a skin, and then inflating it with air blown through a straw, fans, or hairdryers, he allowed the liquid glue to produce its own peculiar forms directly on the surface of the canvas. “It was a huge challenge for me, the collective was demanding, and Yoshihara was very strict.” Moved by purpose and curiosity, Matsutani started exploring the physical and expressive character of his chosen material, vinyl glue, in 1961, when it first became available in Japan. “I was first introduced to the movement in the early 60s when I met Sadamasa Motonaga, a Gutai member, completely by chance,” he continues. “My encounter with the Gutai Group was a pivotal moment in my formation,” explains Matsutani. “My encounter with the Gutai Group was a pivotal moment in my formation” ![]() It wills the invention of new notions of what art is, with attention to innovative materials and techniques. Its manifesto called for artists to not replicate what others had done before, stressing the importance of artistic creativity and originality. It rejected the traditional representative art approaches of the time, favoring a liberal-minded Japan, interactive environments, and a new wave of experimental art that would evade conventional categorizations. Founded in 1954 by the nearly-50-year-old visionary Jiro Yoshihara and seventeen young artists from the Osaka region, the collective was born against the conservative climate and Japanese isolation following World War II. The artist was one of the youngest members of one of the most dynamic and radical avant-garde movements of the post-war period, the Gutai Association. Matsutani’s experimental approach goes back a long way. ![]()
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