Kazuo Shiraga has become one of the most prominent members of the Gutai group and a highly successful artist in his own right. However, less commonly explored is the role his wife Fujiko played in his practice and her own art making. Beginning April 30, The Estate of Kazuo Shiraga and Fergus McCaffrey will present Kazuo & Fujiko Shiraga, the first-ever joint exhibition of the two artists.
The two were married in 1948, and the pair soon joined the Gutai group headed by Jiro Yoshihara. Under his challenge to “create what has never been done before,” Kazuo responded by making revolutionary performative works and developed his practice of “foot painting,” swinging from a rope and using his body to paint. This was to become his signature style and method.
Fujiko was equally radical, using unconventional materials and exploring the possibilities of surfaces and materiality. Large and fragile collages of torn and layered paper played with transparency and opacity, while paintings on canvas were composed of wax, broken glass, torn paper and pigment. In 1955, she created a concrete sculpture incised with deep horizontal lines, as well as White Plank, a 13-foot-long angled wood plank bisected by a long snaking cut. By 1961, she had abandoned her practice and moved to support Kazuo’s studio practice, a role she maintained for the remainder of his career.
Several forgotten works created between 1955 and 1961 by Fujiko have been discovered in her husband’s studio, and point to an artist deserving of wider study and recognition. Fifteen of her pieces will be exhibited at Fergus McCaffrey alongside a selection of masterworks by Kazuo. An accompanying publication will also provide an in-depth exploration into both artists’ work.
Fujiko Shiraga, Untitled (1961) Oil, Japanese paper and glass on canvas
© Fujiko Shiraga, Courtesy Fergus McCaffrey
Kazuo Shiraga, Monjyu Bosatsu San (1975) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Kazuo Shiraga, Courtesy Fergus McCaffrey
Kazuo Shiraga, Shinju (1993) Oil on canvas
© Estate of Kazuo Shiraga, Courtesy Fergus McCaffrey
by Louise Lui
Kazuo & Fujiko Shiraga is open from April 30 until June 20, 2015 at Fergus McCafferey 514 West 26th Street, New York, NY 10001