Spanning the late 1950s to the early 1970s, Resounding Spirit explores an exciting period in Japanese art history marked by avant-garde movements, experimentation and interest in new materials. The exhibition encompasses a broad spectrum of works created by two generations of artists, and demonstrates the extent to which the evolution of the art paralleled the growth of Japan, as it emerged from the Second World War and established itself in the international community.
 
           In the wake of World War II, Japanese artists re-entering the world stage grappled with how to make their mark on the international scene. Particularly after the American Occupation officially ended in 1952, many Japanese artists resumed exhibiting internationally and studying abroad. Such trends are exemplified by Minoru Kawabata and Toshimitsu Imai who exhibited at the Venice Biennale as well as Yoshishige Saito, Atsuko Tanaka and Jiro Yoshihara, who participated in Guggenheim International Award Exhibitions. Some artists resumed the prewar practice of studying in Europe, such as Toshimitsu Imai who went to Paris, while others, such as Kenzo Okada, were drawn by the postwar emergence of New York as a cultural capital.. Their desire for international relevance led to the establishment of Japanese abstraction, an original and independent force synthesizing experiments in Abstract Expressionism, calligraphy, new materials, installation and performance.
 
           Japan’s close alliance with the United States after World War II helped bring about its economic recovery and its reintegration into the international community. And yet, the relationship was an ambivalent one. The persisting American military presence in Japan and its use of Japan as a Cold War base in Asia led to mass resentment. In 1960 as massive protests erupted in Japan against the renewal of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty (Anpo), which many saw as a reminder of Japan’s status as an American client state. The rebellious avant-garde artists of the 1960s mirrored revolutionary attitudes nationwide by rejecting the status quo in art. Confronting issues concerning the institution of art on various levels, their defiance gave rise to “anti-art” tendencies including the use of unconventional materials such as Shin Kuno’s use of steel Work 1964-1 (1964).