This solo exhibition of Sam Francis, which toured five venues including The Museum of Modern Art, Seibu Takanawa, followed the Art Informel trajectory explored in the previous year’s retrospective of Hisao Domoto. Since his first visit to Japan in 1957, Francis had returned frequently, drawing inspiration from Japanese traditions and culture while exerting a significant influence on the Japanese art world.
The Museum of Modern Art, Seibu Takanawa had previously presented The Flow of Contemporary Art: New Acquisitions Centered on Sam Francis in 1984 and had built an important collection of his works. Focusing on developments in Francis’s practice after 1980, this exhibition introduced works from his mature period, including large-scale paintings that had rarely been exhibited in Japan.
The exhibition catalogue featured contributions by critics Yoshiaki Tono and Masataka Ogawa, writers Kenzaburo Oe and Makoto Ooka, composer Toru Takemitsu, and Takashi Tsujii.