Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on July 2012

After WWII, Japanese artists faced a choice between a dying tradition or copying the Abstract revolution. Painter Jiro Yoshihara’s Gutai (“Concrete”) Art Association’s answer was to forge their own vision of Abstract art. This wasn’t too far-fetched. Similar to Jackson Pollock, Japanese artists had long valued creation as much as result. This exhibition looks at Gutai’s legacy and the 13-day open-air “Experimental Outdoor Exhibition of Modern Art to Challenge the Mid-Summer Sun,” which launched the movement in 1955.

The National Art Center Tokyo, until Sep 10 (listing).