Artwork Description

Title: Peach of Mount Kunlun 1
Artist: Keiko Moriuchi
Date: 2018
Medium: Mixed media on canvas
Dimensions: 35.8 x 28.6 in (91 x 72.7 cm)

1. Artwork Identification
Peach of Mount Kunlun 1 is a radiant large-format mixed media painting by Keiko Moriuchi, completed in 2018. At the center of the work is a vivid circular mandala-like formation composed of concentric floral spirals in vibrant hues—pinks, reds, violets, and golds—embellished with gestural impasto and shimmering foil. The background is intricately textured with a lattice of raised circular impressions, over which the central motif seems to hover. Encased in a layered decorative border, the work exudes the aura of a sacred talisman or ceremonial tapestry.

2. Artistic Style and Influences
Rooted in the Gutai legacy of material experimentation, Moriuchi’s aesthetic is both sensuous and structured. In Peach of Mount Kunlun 1, her tactile layering and chromatic exuberance reflect the influence of postwar abstraction, but the mandala composition and symbolic color choices evoke a deeply personal cosmology. The peach, often associated with immortality in Chinese mythology and specifically tied to the mythic Mount Kunlun, is reimagined here as a spiritual emblem—a visual portal to vitality, renewal, and transcendence.

3. Historical Context
Moriuchi's engagement with Gutai dates back to the 1960s, when she studied under Jiro Yoshihara and was later inducted into the group following her time in New York. Her early works explored performative installation, while her later pieces, such as this 2018 painting, represent a return to object-based practices infused with spiritual symbolism and a mature command of materials. Drawing on decades of experimentation, Peach of Mount Kunlun 1 bridges traditions of Japanese avant-garde art, Chinese iconography, and Western painterly innovation.

4. Provenance
Provenance documentation can be provided upon contact.

5. Condition and Conservation
The artwork is in very good condition. The canvas is stable and clean, with no signs of wear or damage. The impasto and metallic elements retain their brilliance and texture. No conservation interventions have been necessary.

6. Artistic Significance
Peach of Mount Kunlun 1 exemplifies Moriuchi’s late-career refinement—a synthesis of myth, material, and meditative form. Rich with allusions to immortality and spiritual ascent, the work functions as both painting and sacred object. It occupies a central place in Moriuchi’s evolving visual lexicon and offers collectors an opportunity to acquire a masterful piece by an artist whose legacy spans continents, movements, and decades of critical exploration.