Very good condition.
Signed and dated on the bottom right of the verso.

Kuwayama Tadaaki (1932–2023) was one of the artists who introduced Minimal Art in the United States into the context of Japanese contemporary art history during the 1960s and 1970s. After graduating from the Department of Japanese Painting at Tokyo University of the Arts, he moved to the U.S. in 1958 and based his practice in New York. His first solo exhibition was held at Green Gallery in New York in 1961. In his early years, he employed methods rooted in Japanese painting—layering paint mixed with mineral pigments onto washi paper mounted on canvas. Around 1963, he began to incorporate new materials such as acrylic paint and varnish, ultimately developing a distinct pictorial style: fields of uniform colour—red, blue, green—contained within metallic frames, entirely devoid of brushstrokes. His refined, reductionist forms have often been discussed in relation to the discourse of Minimal Art.

In a 1964 statement, Kuwayama wrote:
“Ideas, thoughts, philosophy, reasons, meanings, even the humanity of the artist, do not enter into my work at all. There is only the art itself. That is all.”

True to these words, Kuwayama’s practice consistently rejected the artist’s personal trace, maintaining a rigorous pursuit of “pure art.” His works are held in major museums worldwide, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York), the Museum of Modern Art ( Kamakura & Hayama, Kanagawa), and the National Museum of Art (Osaka).

This work is a prime example of Kuwayama’s celebrated Cross Paintings. The homogeneous purple surface—bounded and immaculate—seems to symbolize the artificial splendour of modern society. In the 1960s, Kuwayama focused on canvases framed with aluminium and painted with acrylics, while in the 1970s, he continued his experimentation by introducing circular or otherwise shaped canvases and metallic paints. This piece stands as a rare and representative early work, marking a significant stage in his lifelong pursuit of material and formal possibilities.

Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo