堂本尚郎 Hisao
Domoto Hisao
Domoto

The painter widely credited for introducing the highly influential Informel critic Michel Tapié to the artists affiliated with the Gutai School, thereby helping to spawn an entire generation of abstract painters emblematic of post-war Japan, Hisao Domoto's critical recognition has risen rapidly in the past few years. Born in Kyoto to a family of artists including the famed Nihonga painter Insho Domoto, Domoto began painting in 1942 when he entered the high school annex of Kyoto's School of Fine Arts. In 1952 Domoto traveled throughout Europe with his uncle Insho, and in 1954 he moved to Paris where he lived until returning to Japan in 1965. During his years in Paris, Domoto became a contemporary of many artists in the modern movement including Kumi Sugai, Sam Francis, Joan Mitchell, and Isamu Noguchi. In New York, where this work was exhibited in 1966, Domoto was represented by the prominent Martha Jackson Gallery, meeting the likes of Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg, where these legendary artists first rose to prominence by their representation by Jackson.