HIGHLIGHT

Jiro Takamatsu, born in Tokyo, was one of the most important Japanese artists of the post-war period. In 1963, together with artists Genpei Akasegawa and Natsuyuki Nakanishi, he formed the art collective Hi Red Center.
In his Two-Dimensional Space series from the 1960s to the mid-1970s, Takamatsu pursued and realized “complete expression.” Beginning in 1964, he devoted himself to flat painting, producing works in various series, among which the most representative is the Shadow series. He created these works using only compasses, rulers, golf balls, and other simple tools: lines drawn from the edges of the canvas and curves made with a compass at points of contact make the canvas appear to depict what he wished to express from within; the canvas itself generates lines, curves, and other essential elements.
The present work, No. 139, achieves the most complete expression within his interactive spatial works, centered on the concept of “shadow.” Takamatsu brought shadow from the canvas into the public realm, allowing the viewer’s body and the light on site to complete the work together.