Calligraphy ‘Avant-garde’ 魁 | Suda Kokuta 須田剋太 | 1906–1990

A shiki (usually measuring just under 20 cm x 20 cm) is a somewhat playful form of art presentation. As it is made of cardboard (with a fine gold border), it is an easy-to-handle object – at the very least, it can simply be fixed to the wall, or it can be turned into a wall decoration by placing it in a roll-up picture mount designed specifically for shiki (which works like a clip-on frame).

This shiki is monumental, and as it is a major work, it is also magnificent when presented in a frame. Kokuta loves the powerful, almost architectural line; his paintings always possess a force that immediately captivates the viewer. He often seems to force his lines into the format – in contrast to the love of empty space found in traditional Japanese painting.

This symbol of the ‘avant-garde’ is as strong as an iron structure – it brings to mind the paintings of P. Soulages and the iron sculptures of E. Chillida.

It is strange that the painter is not yet very well known in the West, even though he has become an icon of modern art in Japan.