This particular piece from Kazuo Shiraga caught my eye first because of the color: the rich plum was the perfect tone for a project we were working on, and the energy of the strokes—as it happens, he most famously painted with his feet while suspended above the canvas—drew me in.
When I came across J.R. Schmidt’s processing posters last week, Shiraga came to mind. Schmidt uses digital processing techniques to map the motions of simulated particles in gravity fields on the canvas. The two artists share little in terms of technique, but the tone and energy of these pieces, the focus on movement and interaction with space, is aligned.
Learn more about Kazuo Shiraga and his body of work in his 2008 obituary; find more incredible work from J.R. Schmidt at Cargo Collective.
To review past “Common Ground” pairings, visit the UJC archives.
image credits: 1-Kazuo Shiraga, via Hundertmark Gallery; 2-J.R. Schmidt
