Education & Background
Born in Osaka in 1938, Yuko Nasaka’s artistic aspirations began with oil painting in junior high school and developed further in the Osaka Prefectural Ichioka High School art club. Her early ground-breaking works, after graduating from university and getting married, involved drilling many holes into large, monochromatic, grey surfaces.
One of the few female figures of the influential Gutai Art Association, Yuko Nasaka is a leading Japanese avant-garde artist. She is known for her minimalist, concentric circular compositions that are luminous and rich in texture.
In 1962 Nasaka was inspired by Kazuo Shiraga—a classmate of her husband, Senkichiro Nasaka, at Kyoto City Specialist School of Painting—to submit her work to the 15th Ashiya City Exhibition. As well as winning the Mayor’s Prize, her work attracted the attention of Gutai co-founder Jiro Yoshihara, who admired ‘the rigorous spirit’ with which she worked.
In 1963 Yuko Nasaka was invited to join the Gutai Artist Association, becoming a key figure of the group’s second generation. The second generation was defined by a shift from gestural abstraction to minimalist inclinations. Her art from this period kept with the Gutai hallmarks of experimenting inventively, using modern industrial materials, and offering infinite possible meanings.
As part of Gutai, Yuko Nasaka made a modular series of square wooden panels that she had coated in a thin layer of plaster, glue, and clay, and spun on a mechanical turntable. As they rotated, she carved concentric circular patterns into the material with a palette knife, later finishing the panels with a layer of car lacquer, sprayed by an auto-factory air compressor.
For her first solo exhibition—seen by prominent artists like John Cage, Merce Cunningham, and Robert Rauschenberg—at Gutai Pinacotheca in 1964, Nasaka displayed these paintings in a large grid to create a mural. This composition of multiple panels has remained a constant in the artist’s work.
The main point of difference between Yuko Nasaka’s works from the 20th century and her more recent output from the 21st century is a slight shift in colour palette: from bold synthetic colours, such as the sharp blue of Untitled (1964), to somewhat more earthy, natural tones like the deep greens across the 12 panels of Untitled (2015).
Over the decades, Yuko Nasaka’s art has been exhibited widely in Japan and across the globe. Her works can be found in the collections of major public institutions such as Tate, London; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; and the Osaka City Museum of Modern Art.
Solo Exhibitions
2018
“Flash Flash” Ann Niu Solo Exhibition, Shanghai, China
2017
Ann Niu & Qiu Sheng Xian Contemporary Chinese Art Duo Solo Exhibition, Art Futures
Group, Hong Kong
2016
Microcosm – Ann Niu Solo Exhibition, ArtCN Gallery,
Shanghai, China
2012
Niu Ann’s recent work at SH Contemporary, Shanghai Exhibition Centre, Shanghai, China
2011
Niu Ann’s painting, The Opposite House, Beijing, China
2010
2000-2010, Shanghai Art Museum, China
DRAMA, Sin Sin Fine Art, Hong Kong
2009
Independent Series, Natelier, Shanghai, China
2003
Femme Peintures de Niu An, La Maison de La Chine, Paris, France
For a Good Reason, Hong Merchant of Australia, Sydney, Australia 45 x 40 Ink work of Niu An, Hong Merchant Gallery, Shanghai, China
2002
Breathe, OmniQ Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2001
Unfitted Place, Hong M Gallery, Shanghai, China
2000
Entering, Liu Haisu Art Museum, Shanghai, China
Group Exhibitions
2016
Art Fair Tokyo, Tokyo International Forum Art Stage Singapore, Singapore
2015
Asia Contemporary Art Show, Hong Kong
2014
Art Beijing Contemporary Art Fair, Zendai Art, Beijing, China
Portrait Series Joined Winter Group Exhibition, IBU Gallery,
Paris, France
Ceramic Work Participate Design Shanghai with Kaolin Gallery, Shanghai, China
2011
Fine Art Asia, Waterhouse & Dodd, Hong Kong
2010
Head On, Red Gate Gallery, Beijing, China
2009
30 Degree, Island 6 Art Centre / Studio Rouge Gallery, Shanghai, China
Reach the Heart – Art in Hospital, Sin Sin Fine Art, Hong Kong 50-80 Group Exhibition, J Gallery, Shanghai, China
Auction History
4 PIECES, 1963
Resin, acrylic and lacquer spray on panel
frame 60.2 × 59.7 cm (23¾ × 23½ in.)
May 24, 2024 – May 25, 2024
SBI Art Auction
Tokyo, Japan
Not Sold
¥2,000,000 – 3,000,000
Work,1963
Resin and lacquer on board
30.0 × 30.0 cm (11¾ × 11¾ in.)
Jan 28, 2024
SBI Art Auction
Tokyo, Japan
Sold ¥ 1,897,500 JPY
¥600,000 – 900,000
Work (yellow) , 1965
Resin and lacquer on board
45 x 45 cm
May 28, 2022
SBI Art Auction
Tokyo, Japan
Sold
JPY ¥3,335,000
+167% est
US$26,238
JPY ¥1,000,000–¥1,500,000
Work 2014
Resin, acrylic and lacquer spray on board
45 x 45 cm
Apr 23, 2021
SBI Art Auction
Tokyo, Japan
Sold
JPY ¥770,500
+40% est
US$7,135
JPY ¥400,000–¥700,000
Work GAY-35, 1963
resin and lacquer on board
30.4 x 30.4 cm
Mar 12, 2021
Christie’s
New York
Sold
US$23,750
+296% est
US$5,000–US$7,000
Work 2014
Resin, acrylic and lacquer spray on board
45.2 x 45.2 cm
Oct 31, 2020
SBI Art Auction
Tokyo, Japan
Sold
JPY ¥1,207,500
+202% est
US$11,538
JPY ¥300,000–¥500,000
Work, 1968
mixed media on board
23.5 x 23.5 cm
Sep 04, 2020
Mainichi
Tokyo
Sold
JPY ¥900,000
+125% est
US$8,483
JPY ¥300,000–¥500,000
WORK 作品 , dated 1963
resin and lacquer on board
91 x 91 cm
Jul 10, 2020
Sotheby’s
Hong Kong
Sold
HK$512,500
+138% est
US$66,127
HK$180,000–HK$250,000
Work 2014
Oil, resin and lacquer on panel
45 x 45 cm
Apr 26, 2019
SBI Art Auction
Tokyo
Sold
JPY ¥690,000
+25% est
US$6,185
JPY ¥400,000–¥700,000
kinetic ball, 1967
Resin
16 x 30 x 32 cm
Apr 26, 2019
SBI Art Auction
Tokyo
Sold
JPY ¥1,092,500
+68% est
US$9,794
JPY ¥500,000–¥800,000
Mugen, 1965
Mixed media
45.5 x 45.5 cm
Oct 27, 2018
SBI Art Auction
Tokyo
Sold
JPY ¥1,897,500
+52% est
US$16,957
JPY ¥1,000,000–¥1,500,000
Work, 1972
Resin and lacquer on board
60 x 60 cm
Jul 14, 2018
SBI Art Auction
Tokyo
Sold
JPY ¥1,150,000
-8% est
US$10,232
JPY ¥1,000,000–¥1,500,000
Work 1963
resin and lacquer on board
46.3 x 46.3 cm
Nov 26, 2017
Christie’s
Convention Hall
Sold
HK$250,000
+32% est
US$32,161
HK$140,000–HK$240,000
Work 1970
resin and lacquer on board
45.5 x 45.5 cm
Nov 26, 2017
Christie’s
Convention Hall
Sold
HK$125,000
-26% est
US$16,081
HK$120,000–HK$220,000
Work, 1965
Resin and lacquer on board
44.5 x 44.5 cm
Oct 20, 2017
SBI Art Auction
Tokyo
Sold
JPY ¥2,300,000
+84% est
US$20,259
JPY ¥1,000,000–¥1,500,000
Work, 1965
Resin and lacquer on board
45 x 45 cm
Oct 20, 2017
SBI Art Auction
Tokyo
Sold
JPY ¥3,105,000
+148% est
US$27,350
JPY ¥1,000,000–¥1,500,000
537-2
resin and lacquer on canvas mounted on board
120.3 by 80 cm
Oct 01, 2017
Sotheby’s
Hong Kong
Sold
HK$1,062,500
+136% est
US$136,034
HK$400,000–HK$500,000
WORK 38-1, 1963
resin and lacquer on board
90.5 x 90.5 cm
Nov 27, 2016
Christie’s
Hong Kong, HKCEC Grand Hall
Sold
HK$575,000
+3% est
US$74,458
HK$460,000–HK$660,000
Untitled, 1963
Resin and lacquer on board
45.5 x 45.5 cm
Nov 05, 2016
SBI Art Auction
Tokyo
Sold
JPY ¥1,725,000
+130% est
US$16,730
JPY ¥600,000–¥900,000
Work GAY-27, 1978
sand, resin and lacquer on board
60 x 60 cm
Oct 11, 2016
Christie’s
London
Sold
£7,500
-12% est
US$9,196
£7,000–£10,000
Work, 1968
sand, resin and lacquer on board
63 x 63 cm
Oct 11, 2016
Christie’s
London
Sold
£8,750
+3% est
US$10,729
£7,000–£10,000
8 (Infinity) – 6 Pieces, 1965
resin lacquer spray on board
104.5 x 69.3 cm. (41 1/8 x 27 ¼ in.)
May 28, 2016
Christie’s
Convention Hall
Sold
HK$875,000
+9% est
US$113,210
HK$600,000–HK$1,000,000
UNTITLED , 1967
resin and laquer spray on board
88.8 by 88.8 cm; 35 by 35
Apr 04, 2016
Sotheby’s
Hong Kong
Sold
HK$650,000
+44% est
US$83,820
HK$400,000–HK$500,000
Work, 1978
resin and lacquer on board
59.99 x 59.99 cm
Nov 30, 2015
Est-Ouest Auctions
Hong Kong
Sold
HK$118,000
+48% est
US$15,219
HK$65,000–HK$95,000
Work 1978
resin and lacquer on board
59.99 x 59.99 cm
Nov 30, 2015
Est-Ouest Auctions
Hong Kong
Sold
HK$112,100
+40% est
US$14,458
HK$65,000–HK$95,000
Infinity, 1963
resin, lacquer spray on board
59.5 x 59.5 cm
Nov 29, 2015
Christie’s
Hong Kong
Sold
HK$500,000
+11% est
US$64,816
HK$350,000–HK$550,000
8 (Infinity)
synthetic resin paint on canvas
116 x 80.01 cm
Oct 14, 2015
Christie’s
South Kensington
Not Sold
£25,000–£35,000
Work 1965
resin and lacquer on board
29.79 x 29.79 cm
Oct 14, 2015
Christie’s
South Kensington
Not Sold
£8,000–£12,000
Infinity, 1965
Resin and lacquer on board
45 x 45 cm
Jul 11, 2015
SBI Art Auction
Tokyo
Sold
JPY ¥3,565,000
+224% est
US$29,065
JPY ¥900,000–¥1,300,000
Work 1963
resin, lacquer spray on board
135.6 x 90.4 cm
May 30, 2015
Christie’s
Hong Kong
Sold
HK$812,500
+31% est
US$105,302
HK$520,000–HK$720,000
Collection
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