Takamatsu Shadow No. 226 Acrylic, enamel and metal hooks on wood 33 x 24 x 8 cm. Framed under Plexiglas cover. Signed, dated and titled 'JIRO TAKAMATSU 1968 NO. 226' verso on wood. - Minor traces of age. Provenance Tokyo Gallery, Tokyo (1968); Christie's, Amsterdam, 20.04.2016, Lot 11 Takamatsu Shadow No. 226 Acryl, Emaille und Metallhaken auf Holz 33 x 24 x 8 cm. Unter Plexiglashaube gerahmt. Rückseitig auf dem Holz signiert, datiert und betitelt 'JIRO TAKAMATSU 1968 NO. 226'. - Mit geringfügigen Altersspuren. Provenienz Tokyo Gallery, Tokyo (1968); Christie's, Amsterdam, 20.04.2016, Lot 11 Born in Tokyo, Jiro Takamatsu was one of the most influential artists for the Japanese Post-War Art period. The artist was a pioneer for the 20th-century art movement Mono-ha (school of things), which is exploring dialogues between natural and industrial materials. The movement searches for engagement by gesture, action, process and experimentation in contrast with formal studio-art methods or polished artworks. In other words, as stated by the Guggenheim, the artist is seeking to “reveal the world as it is”. Similar and comparable to this period is the Japanese Gutai Bijutsu Kyokai (Gutai Art Association, 1954-72), a movement that steps away from museums, galleries, and other institutional settings (The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, 2020. Takamatsu Jiro). Takamatsu work is encapsulating a combination of provocative and spirited aspects of Dada and Surrealism with an individual Minimally refined visual language. He explores a diverse range of medium's, such as paintings, sculptures, experimental writing and conceptual photography's, and xerographic pieces. During the 1960s and 1970s, Jiro Takamatsu made the most iconic works recognisable for his shadow paintings. The current work Shadow No. 226 is an example of his impressive oeuvre. Contextual, his professions are suggesting the immaterial rather than the material of the artwork. The surface of the moulding “cast” depicts a shadow of a key. Takamatsu is indicating the absence of the object, which is the key hanging on the hook. The artist was represented by Tokyo Gallery where he had his first solo exhibition in 1966. The importance was recognised in the same year for the representation of Japan at the Venice Biennale and he received the Carlo Cardozzo Prize, 1968.