Japan's Postwar Gutai Movement Redefined Art as Physical Encounter and Direct Action

By kat barandy I designboom · Designboom · 2026-07-31

Japan's Postwar Gutai Movement Redefined Art as Physical Encounter and Direct Action

Designboom explores the radical legacy of Gutai, a Japanese avant-garde collective that replaced traditional brushwork with visceral, full-body experimentation during the mid-1950s. Founded by Jirō Yoshihara in Ashiya, the group rejected inherited aesthetics in favor of a method

Designboom explores the radical legacy of Gutai, a Japanese avant-garde collective that replaced traditional brushwork with visceral, full-body experimentation during the mid-1950s. Founded by Jirō Yoshihara in Ashiya, the group rejected inherited aesthetics in favor of a method