Artwork Description

Title: Saint Annabrona
Artist: Keiko Moriuchi
Date: n.d.
Medium: Mixed media
Dimensions: 16.1 x 12.6 in. (41 x 32 cm)

1. Artwork Identification
This electrifying mixed media work Title:d Saint Annabrona by Keiko Moriuchi commands attention with its vivid palette, dimensional surface, and spiritual undertones. Measuring 41 x 32 cm, the piece employs a dense impasto technique, layering bold acrylic hues—pinks, greens, blues, and reds—with aluminum foil, gemstones, and gold leaf to produce a richly tactile composition. The symmetrical structure evokes the ornate complexity of a devotional icon or reliquary, hinting at sanctity through abstract language.

2. Artistic Style and Influences
Moriuchi’s visual language here is a compelling fusion of Gutai spontaneity and an intuitive form of Neo-Baroque excess. While firmly rooted in postwar Japanese avant-garde practice, Saint Annabrona reflects the artist's exposure to American Abstract Expressionism and Western spiritual iconography during her time in New York. The accumulation of materials and the ceremonial arrangement of shapes suggest an interplay between bodily expression and transcendental symbolism—a defining concern of Gutai art.

3. Historical Context
Moriuchi joined the influential Gutai Art Association in 1968, following formative years of study in both Japan and the United States. Her work in this period challenged the boundaries between action, matter, and meaning. Saint Annabrona emerges from a post-Gutai era where individual members were reasserting their voices. The work can be seen as a meditation on ritual and material transformation—themes deeply resonant within Gutai's ethos, yet filtered through Moriuchi’s personal cosmology and transnational perspective.

4. Provenance
Provenance documentation can be provided upon contact.

5. Condition and Conservation
The artwork is in very good condition. The impasto surface is stable, with no evidence of flaking or deterioration. The foil and mixed media applications remain securely adhered to the substrate. No conservation intervention is currently required.

6. Artistic Significance
Saint Annabrona exemplifies Keiko Moriuchi’s singular position at the intersection of Gutai innovation and international abstraction. The work reflects her sensitivity to gesture, texture, and symbolic density. Beyond its immediate visual impact, it resonates as a personal ritual object—a sacred fragment of postwar material experimentation. In its blend of color, form, and symbolism, the painting offers a profound meditation on artistic and spiritual renewal, placing Moriuchi among the most distinctive voices of the late Gutai movement.