Minoru Onoda: Paintings 1960s onward

Paintings by Minoru Onoda from 1960s to 2000s will be presented for his second solo show Minoru Onoda: Paintings 1960s onward in Anne Mosseri-Marlio Galerie.

Onoda became a fixture of the radically experimental Gutai association’s exhibitions from 1965 until its 1972 dissolution. In 1960 Onoda began to use pipes and sand to create textured paintings and experiment with circles and spheres. In the following year, he briefly replaced rough surfaces by adding wood slats to his paintings which he covered with large dots as represented in the extremely rare 1961 painting SAKUHIN 61-13. Immediately thereafter he settled for smoothness and covered his paintings with arrangements of small dots to create optical illusions and movement. He experimented with gofun, a mouldable paste made from shell pigment, to create undulating surfaces. These blossom into meticulous, multi-coloured, biomorphic dot paintings which he called ‘sky dreams’.

In the 1970s Onoda explored the dynamic relationship between a human and his surroundings through geometric unity and simplicity of the circle. He often referred to himself as “the one who performs the circle”. He presents the circle’s endless proliferation as it journeys towards a perfect state of emptiness, silence. Later Onoda grew closer to Op art, painting larger, radiating planetary circles that float weightlessly, alone or in ordered groups, within seemingly monochrome, but detailed canvases teeming with increasing spheres.