Good condition.
Signed and dated on the lower right, artist's seal on the lower left.
Artist's seal on the lower left of the verso.
There are discolorations and brown spots throughout the surface.

Born and raised in the Kansai region in 1937, Takefumi Matsutani studied Nihonga (Japanese-style painting) at Osaka City Kogei High School (now Osaka Prefectural Kogei High School). He joined the Gutai Art Association (1954–1972) in 1963. In 1966, he moved to France as a government-sponsored international student. Since then, he has continued his artistic practice between Paris and Nishinomiya. His series of relief works, featuring organic forms created using glue mixed with graphite on canvas, have received critical acclaim both in Japan and abroad. Most recently, a major retrospective of his work was held at Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery in 2024.

This work, ‘Untitled’, is a drawing made with paint and adhesive, created in 1962. Beginning in that year, Matsutani started producing organic relief works using vinyl adhesive, early explorations of a method that would become central to his practice, shaping the material itself into form. These works were highly praised by Jiro Yoshihara, the leader of the Gutai Art Association. This piece is a rare and significant early example from the formative stage of Matsutani’s career.