Chiyu Uemae, "Untiled" (Detail), 1959, © the artist, photo: Johannes Haslinger

Pinakothek der Moderne | Sammlung Moderne Kunst (Modern Art Collection)

Gutai. Collection + Goetz

June 14 – September 8, 2024

Since 2019, in the context of the Sammlung+ format, the Sammlung Moderne Kunst has presented artistic discoveries, new acquisitions and thematic foci in the Pinakothek der Moderne in collaboration with partners and foundations. This has led to the emergence of new perspectives on the collections, new insights into research work and the establishment of new dialogues. It is in this framework that a selection of paintings by the Japanese artist group Gutai from the Sammlung Goetz will be presented in room 23, within a series of rooms focusing on near-contemporaneous regional and German abstraction phenomena under the title Walk the Line. Founded in 1954 by the abstract painter Jiro Yoshihara, Gutai was one of the 20th century’s most innovative artistic movements, which combined action, abstraction and materiality.

With Kumiko Imanaka, Takesada Matsutani, Shuij Mukai, Minoru Onoda, Chiyu Uemae and Toshio Yoshida.

Pinakothek der Moderne | Room 23

Daily 10 am – 6 pm
Thursday 10 am – 8 pm
Monday closed

Barer Str. 40
80333 München

to the website

'Gutai' can be translated as 'concrete, tangible, material.' In their works, the group’s members explored the changeability and volatility of soil, mud, water, wind, fire, smoke and sunlight. The proximity to nature was already evident in July 1955, in the group’s first presentation, which took place outdoors. The most important point of reference, however, remained the artists’ engagement with painting. That same year, the first issue of the magazine Gutai appeared, and it continued to be published regularly until 1965. It reported on the works and activities of the group members; its content also demonstrated the great interest Gutai artists had in a dialog with Western abstraction movements. The first three issues included summaries in English, which brought the group to the attention of artists such as Jackson Pollock and Allan Kaprow as well as to critics such as Michel Tapié. This was followed by a series of international exhibitions that also made Gutai renowned in the Western world.

Curated by Verena Hein in collaboration with Karsten Löckemann and Pietro Tondello.