Sakuhin 1958

Sadamasa Motonaga made this painting, Sakuhin, without constraints, letting the paint do its thing. The red, like fresh blood or rust, pools at the top then drips down. It’s as if he tilted the canvas, coaxing the colors into these oozing shapes. There's a yellow ochre in there too. What was he thinking? Motonaga's work is about process and control, and then also about release. I imagine he was in his studio, somewhere in Japan, feeling both in charge and at the mercy of these materials. I can relate. The drippy forms, they're so physical, so raw. It is an invitation to think about gravity, and viscosity, and the potential for the surface of a painting to come alive. I think of Helen Frankenthaler, pouring paint on canvas. These artists were in conversation. They all inspire me to embrace chance, and trust the weird places a painting can take you.