The Art exhibition Il Gutai (The Gutai) will be open from January 31 to March 15, 2026, in Cesena, at the Galleria del Ridotto, thanks to the contribution of several important collectors
The exhibition focuses in particular on two of the internationally renowned historical artists who formed the Gutai art movement from its inception: Shozo Shimamoto (1928-2013) and Yasuo Sumi (1925-2015).
The works on display explore the history of the movement through the personalities and works of these artists who adhered to the concepts set out in the Gutai manifesto, from its foundation until the 2000s. The "post-Gutai" period is also taken into consideration, to show how much this movement influenced all those who took part in it after 1972, when the group disbanded.
On display are papers, canvases and mesh canvases, mixed media, enamels and works with inclusions (Bottle Crash), derived from performances in Italy, as well as some works exhibited at the 1993 Venice Biennale and a rare work from 1980.
The video, that can be viewed within the exhibition, shows a performance by Maestri Sumi and Shimamoto in Italy, previously broadcast on Sky Arte TV Channel.
The works of these artists are present in major museums around the world.
The vernissage will take place on Saturday, January 31, at 5:00 p.m., with an introduction by Matteo Galbiati and a speech by Roberto Mazzacurati.
Free entrance, visiting hours:
The Gutai exhibition is curated by Maria Grazia Melandri and organized by the Department of Culture of the Municipality of Cesena and L'Immagine Arte.
GUTAI: AN ARTISTIC EXPRESSION OF FREEDOM
In the context of the major artistic avant-garde movements of the post-World War II period, Gutai was born in Japan. It was one of the greatest artistic expressions of freedom in the 20th century, anticipating movements such as Performance Art and Western Conceptual Art by decades.
The ferment that animated Japan during that period encouraged a process of radical rethinking of the pictorial and artistic tradition. The movement's intent was to surpass the European and Western artistic avant-garde, banning the use of brushes and rejecting the figure, experimenting with new linguistic solutions, focusing on the creative act and materials, thus providing an Eastern response to Western tradition. This movement developed through the use of everyday objects, transforming them into vehicles of artistic expression: a reinvention of the canons, which put the artist under the magnifying glass in his concreteness, when he expresses his freedom of movement in the gestures of the material. Unusual elements such as paper, fabrics, mud, and glass were thus used. Even the human body became an artistic tool, leaving its mark on color—no medium was off limits—thus moving from the informal to live performances designed to amaze and engage the viewer.
Alongside Jiro Yoshihara, the founder, and Shozo Shimamoto, who came up with the name of the Movement, Yasuo Sumi, Kazuo Shiraga, Saburo Murakami, Jozo Ukiatto, and many others subsequently joined.
