UNTITLED, 1958

In 1957 Shozo Shimamoto wrote an essay for the Gutai journal titled Efude shokei ron [Killing the paintbrush] in which he argued that the paintbrush had for too long dominated and restricted paint. Gutai strived to release previously hidden elements within the paint by getting rid of the brush altogether. Therefore Yasuo Sumi, along with other artists, found many alternative and creative methods for the application of paint, such as these works on nets which exemplify how artists used materials distance themselves from the constraints of the canvas and brush.

See Ming Tiampo and Alexandra Munro, Gutai: Splendid Playground, exhibition catalogue, (Guggenheim Museum Publications, New York, 2013), p. 56-7.