Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art

To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art will hold a special exhibition of the Gutai Group, a radical art movement formed after World War II by painter Jiro Yoshihara. In 1954, Yoshihara brought together a group of young artists who hailed from the town of Ashiya in Hyogo, who opened a gallery in Osaka that garned considerable attention. Gutai members asserted their individuality by rejecting traditional art for experimental artforms, celebrating the newfound freedom of post-occupation Japan. They explored realms of art that were novel at the time, like performance art and interactive environments. One notable Gutai member whose work is on display is Atsuko Tanaka, a female avant-garde painter and performance artist who achieved fame in the latter years of her life. Much of the work on display was donated by the late Tokutaro Yamamura, a local entrepreneur and philanthropist.