Oil and mixed media on canvas
Argentina, 1963
Kazuya Sakai (1927-2001) – Argentine painter
Signed and dated lower right ‘Sakai 63’
Signed, titled, inscribed and dated twice verso Kazuya Sakai Pintura No. 26 - IV - 1963 Sakai 63
Framed
Dimensions: 31 x 31 in. (78.7 x 78.7 cm.)
Overall dimensions: 31 ¾ x 31 ¾ in. (80.6 x 80.6 cm.)
Provenance: Private Collection, gifted from the artist
Estimate $5,000-$8,000

Argentine painter Kazuya Sakai explores abstract expressionism in his dramatic canvas. Large gestural brushstrokes of deep blues and oranges sweep across and down the textured canvas. Pintura N°26 exemplifies Sakai’s interest in establishing the act of painting itself as the subject of the work.

Painted in 1963, this oil and mixed media on canvas is signed, titled, inscribed and dated. The work measures 31 x 31 inches. Surface dirt, scattered areas of loss in upper and lower extreme edges, largest measuring ½ in. Not examined under UV.

Kazuya Sakai (Argentine, 1927-2001)

Born in Argentina in 1927, Kazuya Sakai attended the University of Waseda in Tokyo before returning to Buenos Aires in 1951. His Japanese education instilled an appreciation for Zen Buddhist philosophy and traditional calligraphy, both of which influenced his later work. In Buenos Aires, Sakai help found several influential arts organizations, both related to his Japanese heritage. His prominence in the artistic community led to his inclusion in the 1960 exhibition, “Fernandez, Muro, Grilo, Ocampo, Sakai, Testa” at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes as well his place at the Argentine pavilion at the 1962 Venice Biennial. His earlier work drew heavily from the New York school and forms of Japanese calligraphy; after settling in 1965 his work moved away from expressionism to large areas of flat, delineated color, lopping in neon spectrums in an attempt to visually recreate jazz improvisation. Since the artist’s death in 2001, he has been the subject of retrospectives at the Galeria Principium and the Centra Cultural Recoleta, Bueno Aires.

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