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YASUO SUMI 

1925-2015

Born in 1925 in Osaka, Sumi entered the Gutaï group in 1955. A trained economist, he began his artistic practice after meeting Shimamoto.​

 

Like every Gutai member, Sumi had to practice his art in the most innovative way possible. He uses an abacus dipped in Indian ink: "the intangible joy of drawing ink with an abacus led to a natural expression of power and joy."

 

Sumi's work is comparable to that of the greatest abstract expressionist artists of the second half of the 20th century.