<b>SELF-PORTRAIT</b>Kumi Sugai20th Century<b>SOLD</b></em>

Details

Kumi Sugai was a Japanese painter and printmaker. Driven by an interest in avant-garde painting, Sugai moved to Paris in 1952, where he quickly attracted critical attention, participating in numerous exhibitions in Paris and abroad. First working in a style resembling informalism or lyrical abstraction, Sugai’s style changed drastically after 1962. He abandoned informel-style materiality for matte, crisp surfaces, which ultimately led to his adoption of acrylic paint. The vaguely calligraphic signs that filled the canvases of the late 1950s were replaced by clearly delineated geometric forms bearing a strong influence on Pop art.

In this charming design, the artist provides us with his only self-portrait. Much in the style of Andy Warhol, the print features the artist’s portrait executed at an intimate distance. The likeness was originally taken via photograph and then converted into a color silkscreen. The whimsical and disarming design portrays the artist with an open mouth bearing a slight smile as he looks off past the viewer’s direction. The artist is crowned with a portion of one of his late 1960s Pop-inspired abstract designs. The addition of the abstract forms executed in primary colors is a striking contrast to the black and sepia tones of his likeness. The red bulbous form creates a crown-like headdress, while the oscillating blue and white bands suggest beams of light emanating from the artist’s head behind a bright blue sky.

Connoisseur's Note

This work is in an exceedingly fine state of preservation. The print’s color is pristine, as this print has not been exposed to light for prolonged periods of time. Other impressions in the marketplace often display fading to the sepia tone in the artist's face. The print is hand signed and numbered by the artist.