Signed and dated lower right.
In overall good condition, with discoloration and surface soiling consistent with age.

Born in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture in 1933, Murakami Yoshio (1933–2006) is known not only as a painter but also as an art critic, particularly for his writings on fellow Tohoku natives Yorozu Tetsugorō and Matsumoto Shunsuke. His career began at a young age. While still a university student in 1953, his work Moth was accepted into the Nika Exhibition for the first time. In 1955, his work Vagus Q, which marked a departure from his earlier Surrealist style, caught the attention of Okamoto Tarō, sparking a relationship between the two. Okamoto later created the opportunity for Murakami to revisit Iwate through his serialized column Artist’s Travel Notes in Geijutsu Shincho, accompanying him throughout the reporting trip.

Around 1960, terminology from chemistry, mathematics, and statistics began appearing in his work titles, and this piece also follows that trend. Around the same time, injection needles encased in polyester began to appear within his works. The art critic Nakahara Yūsuke noted that they possessed “a phenomenal presence marking the transformation from ‘painting’ to ‘readymade’… from ‘individual’ expression to something ‘impersonal.’” Some works feature needles arranged in orderly patterns, while others present them randomly placed, and Murakami continued to explore both approaches for several years. The needle series ultimately came to a close with a harikuyō (a traditional memorial rite for broken needles) held at the second Shūdan Alpha exhibition in 1963, marking a transition toward a more rooted, indigenous aesthetic.

Gallery Saiensu , Iwate