Michiyoshi Deguchi

Tokyo, Japan | 1955

Inner Drawing No. 121003, 2012. Sumi ink, print, plexiglas, 27.5 in diameter. 

Michiyoshi Deguchi (出口道吉) lives and works in Japan. Deguchi’s production considers the inheritance and development of the philosophy of minimalist painting. Recognizing that minimalist painting is the endpoint in the debate of painting history, his chosen theme was to abandon “drawing and expressing” and to treat “painting as a subject.” Deguchi believes minimalist painting creates an artificial meditation space by stacking a considerable amount of painting history and welcoming the viewer. 

Deguchi’s early efforts were to photograph the relationship between people and painting and the relationship between image and the environment. After some trial and error, Deguchi took the technique of overlapping photographs on top of paintings. In other words, the information recorded in the photograph connects the past, where the painting was born, and the present place of the viewer.

Deguchi has had solo exhibitions in Holland, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, and the United States and has participated in group shows in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Japan, and Switzerland. 

All images are copyright-protected and courtesy of the Sandford L. Dow Collection.