Lot Essay
In 1966 Motonaga was invited by the Japan Society to take up a year-long residency program in New York. While there, he began experimenting with airbrushing techniques which had a dramatic impact on his style. His previous amorphous poured canvases changed into more defined shapes with hard edges, playful colour and gradation allowed by the new technique.
For two comparable works from this period in the collections of The National Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan, go to https://search.artmuseums.go.jp/search_e/records.php?sakuhin=50148 (titled Nobi Nobi, 1971), and https://search.artmuseums.go.jp/search_e/records.php?sakuhin=50256 (titled Seems White Light is Emerging, 1979).
For two comparable works from this period in the collections of The National Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan, go to https://search.artmuseums.go.jp/search_e/records.php?sakuhin=50148 (titled Nobi Nobi, 1971), and https://search.artmuseums.go.jp/search_e/records.php?sakuhin=50256 (titled Seems White Light is Emerging, 1979).