About the artwork
This black-and-white photograph features three human figures on a beach, juxtaposed by a montage effect. The two figures in the foreground are in the same unusual, dynamic position, as if captured in motion. The third, further away, is also in motion, and appears to be climbing on the back of one of the figures in the foreground. Although frozen, the scene suggests implicit movement and invites interpretation as a moment of performance. Katsuro Yoshida's work thus seems to explore the relationship between human bodies and their natural environment, in a performative and experimental approach. The work does not seek to represent or embellish, but to document a raw interaction, leaving the viewer to interpret the symbolic or performative significance of the scene. It reflects the minimalist aesthetic of the Mono-Ha movement.
Expert opinion
"Work 19 perfectly illustrates Yoshida's essential reflection on the interaction between man and his immediate environment. It provides an invaluable testimony to the way in which Yoshida and his contemporaries sought to reconcile man with nature through art.
About the artist
Born in Saitama in 1943, Katsuro Yoshida was an artist who lived and worked in Japan until his death in 1999. A 1968 graduate of the Tama Art University, painting department, he became a central member of the Mono-Ha movement from 1968 to 1971, alongside Nobuo Sekine and Lee Ufan. These artists explored the relationship between natural or industrial materials and their environment, emphasizing direct perception rather than transformation or representation. Yoshida is also interested in the interaction between the human body and these elements, often in a performative context. Katsuro Yoshida therefore began by creating three-dimensional works with a strong materiality, and then, from 1969 onwards, by making serigraphs (and later photo engravings). Through his photographic and silkscreen experiments, Katsuro Yoshida played a fundamental role in the international conceptual art movement of the 1970s. He took part in events such as the 8th Japanese Contemporary Art Exhibition in 1968, "Mouvement d'art contemporain" in 69, "Section transversale d'art contemporain" in 70 and "Biennale de Paris" in 71. More recently, in 2017, he was exhibited at the Christophe Gaillard gallery in Paris for the "Japanese Conceptual Photography of the 70s" exhibition.
Additional info
Signed
Dated
Framed
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