Lot 67: Shiryu Morita, Japanese 1912-1999- "Far Away",

Shiryu Morita, Japanese 1912-1999- "Far Away", 1990; shu brush calligraphy, sealed, bears attached label with seal to the reverse of the frame, in presentation sleeve and wallet, 91x67cm. Note: Shiryu Morita was born in Toyooka (Hyogo prefecture) in 1912, the Sho (big brush) calligrapher, Shiryu Morita is recognised as having a significant influence on European and American abstraction paining in the 1950's and 60's. Pierre Alechinsky had made contact with him around 1953 and it is clear that Robert Motherwell infused Morita's Japanese aesthetic traditions into his own modern abstraction. Morita's work was shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York as early as 1953 and during the 1960's he made an extended trip to Europe and North America giving lectures and demonstrations. In 1970 he had a one man exhibition organised by the National Gallery of Canada that toured the country and continued to exhibit around the world into the 1990's, especially in Germany and the United States, where he is perhaps better known than in his native Japan. A significant talent, Morita died in 1999.