Artwork Description

Title: Volley
Artist: Yuichi Inoue (Japanese, 1916–1985)
Date: c. 1960s
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 21.85 x 20.43 in (55.5 x 51.89 cm)

Artwork Identification
Volley is a bold and gestural oil painting by Yuichi Inoue, a central figure in the postwar Japanese avant-garde. Executed on canvas and framed, this work reveals Inoue’s unmistakable dynamic energy, rendered through thick, expressive brushwork. While best known for his radical reinvention of calligraphy, here Inoue explores painterly abstraction, layering gestural masses of pigment with commanding force. The composition suggests a moment of impact—simultaneous eruption and containment—characteristic of his emotionally charged visual language.

Artistic Style and Influences
While Inoue’s principal medium was sumi ink and paper, Volley embodies the same abstract expressiveness found in his “one character” calligraphic works. The painting aligns with the visual ethos of Abstract Expressionism and Art Informel, traditions that Inoue paralleled rather than imitated. Comparable in spirit to Franz Kline or Pierre Soulages, Inoue’s gestural intensity springs from the aesthetics of Zen and Japanese calligraphy, fusing spontaneous action with deliberate spiritual weight. His use of oil here retains the immediacy of ink, while adding depth through the viscosity of the medium.

Historical Context
Emerging in the aftermath of World War II, Inoue’s practice developed in a Japan grappling with rapid modernization and identity reformation. The 1950s and 60s marked a period of intense artistic experimentation, with artists seeking to reconcile traditional cultural forms with modern, often Western, artistic movements. Inoue stood at the forefront of this exchange. As a founding member of Bokujin-kai (Ink People Society), he was instrumental in reestablishing calligraphy as a modern and expressive art form. This oil painting reflects the broader climate of internationalism and cultural redefinition that defined Japanese art of the era.

Provenance and Authenticity
This work originates from a private collection and is believed to have been created during the height of Inoue’s international visibility, post-Documenta II (1959). While Inoue is most frequently collected in works on paper, oil paintings such as Volley are significantly rarer and often trace back to his private experimentation beyond the gallery circuit. Documentation of provenance is available upon request, and stylistic elements are consistent with authenticated works from this period.

Condition and Conservation
The painting is presented in a solid frame and is in good condition overall. Minor abrasions and surface irregularities are visible under raking light, consistent with Inoue’s vigorous technique. No significant areas of pigment loss or restoration have been detected. The canvas remains taut on its stretcher, and the frame shows only minimal wear.

Artistic Significance
Yuichi Inoue remains a towering figure in 20th-century Japanese art, renowned for breaking the boundary between word and image, gesture and meaning. Volley is a rare example of his work in oil, and it reveals the same intensity and spiritual immediacy that characterize his best-known calligraphy. As Western institutions increasingly re-evaluate the global scope of postwar abstraction, works like Volley serve as crucial bridges—testaments to Inoue’s radical spirit and his profound contribution to international modernism.