13902

SUDA KOKUTA (1906-1990)

Title: 抽象 (Chūshō); Abstraction

Signed (on front): 剋 (Koku)

Inscription (on back): 寺本眞吾君へ結婚御祝　一九六六・四・八　西宮市 御茶家所町　二番二五号 (Teramoto Shingo-kun kekkon oiwai 1966/4/8 Nishinomiya-shi Ochayashochō 2-ban 25-gō); A Wedding Gift for Teramoto Shingo, 1966/4/8, 2-25 Ochayashochō, Nishinomiya

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

Date: 1966

Dimensions:

21 x 18 1/4 in. (unframed)

22 1/4 x 19 3/8 (framed)

Media: Oil on canvas with original wooden frame

Price: $ 28,000

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. His painting practice was raw and unmediated, a direct manifestation of his emotions and experiences on the canvas. This painting, titled Abstraction (Chūshō 抽象), features abstract geometric forms in cream, gray, and turquoise with hints of mustard yellow and burgundy peaking out from underneath. The paint is applied thickly, creating a textured surface that is further accentuated by the material—perhaps sand or crumbled rocks—that Suda mixed into his paint and can be found dotting the canvas. Like many of his abstract works, this was a highly personal painting for Suda. The inscription on the back of the frame, which is original, states that the painting was initially presented by Suda as a wedding gift to his friend, Teramoto Shingo.

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. Many of his early paintings were figurative works inspired by post-Impressionist painters. 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, Suda 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.