
Georgina Adam points to the gathering momentum around the Japanese Gutai movement with a number of works being lined up for the London Art Fair this week:
“It used to be convenient to see Gutai as a poor relation of Abstract Expressionism but now we realise how innovative the artists were, and interest is widening,” says adviser Allan Schwartzman, who has been buying Gutai with the leading Dallas collector Howard Rachofsky. Among the artists Whitestone is bringing are Atsuko Tanaka, one of the original members of the group. The top result for a Gutai artist is now almost $4m, set for Kazuo Shiraga in New York last year; at the fair Whitestone is tagging its Shiraga at over $1m, while the Tanaka is above $500,000.
The Art Market: Japanese avant-garde in London (Financial Times)