Japanese artist Tsuyoshi Maekawa joined the influential Gutai group in 1962, after years of mentorship from the group’s renowned founder Jiro Yoshihara. As a second generation Gutai follower, Maekawa continued the artistic pursuit of originality, relying creatively on the group’s manifesto which declares to “Do something no one else has ever done before!” Though devoid of a performative quality, the present lot, Untitled, 1967, focuses instead on the materiality of the object, referencing the actual word “Gutai,” meaning “concrete” or “tangible.” Routed in abstraction Untitled, 1967, presents a complex surface of curvy forms and natural flowing lines that seem to sprout from the underlying texture of the material. The organic composition looks almost like a colorful map, guiding your eye through the peaks and valley of the canvas. As the artist explains, “Like some of the other Gutai artists, once I found the basic techniques and materials that really seized my attention, I stuck with them and experimented with them over time to see how much I could find in and coax out of them.”