13901

SUDA KOKUTA (1906-1990)

Subject: Abstract painting in cream, gray, black, and green

Signed (on front): 剋 (Koku)

Date: 1960

Inscription (on back): 一九六０、一五 (1960/1/5)

Signature (on back): 須田剋太 (Suda Kokuta)

Dimensions:

15 1/2 x 10 3/4 in. (unframed)

17 1/2 x 12 1/2 in. (framed)

Media: Paint mixed with sand and other materials on paper in teak frame

Price: $ 16,500

Suda Kokuta (1906-1990) developed his characteristic approach to abstract painting by synthesizing Western Abstract Expressionism with his own serious study of Zen Buddhist philosophy. This oil painting features a wide array of textures, which Suda achieved by forcefully scratching and embossing the surface of the paper itself before applying paint mixed with sand and other materials. The physicality of his process is captured on the painting’s surface, which communicates the artist’s experiences and emotions in a frank and unassuming manner.

Born in Saitama Prefecture in 1906, Suda Kokuta knew from a young age that he wanted to be an artist. Nevertheless, he failed the entrance exam for the Tokyo Fine Arts School (now Tokyo University of the Arts). It is possible that this failure allowed him to develop as an artist without the influence of a conservative institution. In 1948, he met Hasegawa Saburō (1906-1957), an artist and early advocate of abstract art in Japan, who would have a profound impact on Suda’s artistic trajectory. By the 1950s, he had developed his unique approaches to abstract painting and avant-garde calligraphy, the two styles for which he would become recognized.

A devout Zen Buddhist, he regularly practiced zazen meditation and brought his insights from this practice into his art. In both his painting and his calligraphy, he employed bold and powerful brushwork that conveyed a sense of urgency and immediacy. Through his art, he expressed himself in a raw and unmediated state, free of ego and subjectivity.

Selected References:

Botsugō 10-nen, Seimei no kongen o motomete: Suda Kokuta ten; The Exhibition of Suda Kokuta. Tokyo: Asahi Shinbunsha, 2000.

Suda Kokuta abura-e ten (Suda Kokuta Oil Painting Exhibition). Tokyo: Mitsukoshi Art Gallery, 1983.