Oil, metal on wood

70 x 77.5 x 5.5 cm.27 5/9 x 30 1/2 x 2 1/6 in.

Signed in English, titled in Japanese and dated on the reverse
PROVENANCE
25 Nov 2017, Est-Ouest Hong Kong Autumn Auction, Lot 392
Private Collection, Asia

Making a Mark with Art, Studying the Nature of Matters

When Kishio Suga graduated from Tama Art University in 1966, along with his fellow course mates such as Nobuo Sekine and Korean Lee Ufan, under the guidance of their teacher Yoshishige Saitō, became the founder of Mono-ha, an art movement that seeks to revolutionise through “the most essential means and reveal the mechanism behind the natural world.” Suga uses untreated natural materials such as timber and stone in his work, accentuating the relationships between different objects. His works were seen in many important post-war exhibitions in Japan and are part of the collections in museums such as the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo and Tate Modern.

The piece that is on offer this time, Edge Configuration, was produced in 1993. One of his mature pieces, it is made with timber, metal and acrylic paint. Six pieces of circular wooden discs are attached to each other at the centre, with metal pins connecting them to the canvas. The rough timber forms strong contrast with the manufactured metal pins, resembling a blossoming flower on the orange surface. A long metal pin extends to the lower left side, outside of the canvas. A hexagonal wooden block is placed unexpectedly on the border, as if the minute hand on a clock. It seems to be a reminder of the passing of time, giving the work a metaphysical dimension.

Price estimate:
HKD: 150,000 – 200,000
USD: 19,100 – 25,500

Auction Result:
HKD: 212,400