Gutai Postcards

1956-2008

Various Gutai Artists: Chiyu Uemae (Japanese, 1920–2018), Jirô Yoshihara (Japanese, 1905–1972), Kazuo Shiraga (Japanese, 1924–2008), Kyoichi Mizuguchi (Japanese, b. 1932), Masatoshi Masanobu (Japanese, b. 1911), Michio Yoshihara (Japanese, 1933–1996), Minoru Yoshida (Japanese, 1935–2010), Noboru Sakamitsu (Japanese, dates unknown), Saburo Murakami (Japanese, 1925–1996), Sadaharu Horio (Japanese, 1939–2018), Sadamasa Motonaga (Japanese, 1922–2011), Shôzô Shimamoto (Japanese, 1928–2013), Tanaka Atsuko (1932-2005), Tsuyoshi Maekawa (Japanese, b. 1936), Yamazaki Tsuruko (Japanese, 1925–2019), Yasuo Sumi (Japanese, 1925–2015), Yoshio Sekine (Japanese, 1922–1989), Yozô Ukita (Japanese, dates unknown)

This collection of 63 mixed media postcards was created by Gutai Bijutsu Kyōkai, or the Gutai Artist Association (Gutai), a Japanese artist group established in 1954 and known for their radical use of everyday materials and techniques. Translating to “concrete” in English, the name Gutai reflects the group’s belief in a balance between inanimate matter (such as paint, paper, or tin) and spirit (of the artist). Gutai used the postal system as an international exhibition space, asserting their artistic presence geographically and conceptually.

The hand-painted and collaged postcards in this collection feature summer greetings, exhibition invitations, correspondence, and pieces created for the Gutai Card Box at the 11th Gutai Exhibition held in Osaka, Japan, in 1962. Many of them are interpretations of traditional Japanese New Year’s cards called nengajō. Others resemble large-scale works such as Shiraga Kazuo’s Golden Wings Brushing the Clouds Incarnated from Earthly Wide Star (Chikatsusei Maunkinshi). This set of cards was collected by the artist Yamazaki Tsuruko, a co-founder and one of the few female artists affiliated with the Gutai group.

Status: On View, Research Center Franke Reading Room
Department: Ryerson and Burnham Libraries Special Collections

Artist: Yamazaki Tsuruko
Title: Gutai Postcards
Place: Osaka (Object made in:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1956–2008
Medium: 63 mixed media postcards in collage, gouache, graphite, and watercolor
Dimensions: 14.8 × 10 cm (5 7/8 × 3 15/16 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Joe and Rika Mansueto
Reference Number: N7355.5.G87 N49 1956-2008

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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