USHIO SHINOHARA (JAPAN, B.1923)

Shinohara first gained attention in 1960 with the formation of the Neo-Dadaist Organizers. His early waste art carvings of acrobatic acts linked with desolation and confusion subsequent to the defeat in the second world war, and became symbols of "anti-art" which sublated the academism of the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and the modernism of the post-war era.

After the breakup of Neo-Dadaism movement, Shinohara played an important role in organizing group exhibitions. His 'imitation art', which began with copying works by Rauschenberg, pioneered Japanese pop art. In 1965, he explored interfaces between tradition and contemporary by symbolizing images of courtesans taken from Ukiyo-e in the mid-18th century by brilliant florescent paints.

Since his move to the United States in 1969, his creations have included a motorbike made of wood and corrugated cardboard, as well as massive painting with violent brushstrokes to create grotesque images of scenery and crowds of insane dancers. Lot 477 and 478 are iconic examples indicating Shinohara's preoccupation of mass culture in the United States and Japan and with visions of illusion.