This exhibition is the first comprehensive exhibition in Europe to showcase the work of a group of Japanese artists known as "Experimental Workshop". Formed in the later 1940s the group's uniting principle was that artistic expression and its results are as important to art as scientific experimentation is to science.
The group included painters, sculptors, poets, composers, photographers, filmmakers, theatrical producers in a fusion of disciplines. Their techniques concerned the use of many media with direct influence from the early 20th century Russian Avant Garde. The Experimental Workshop provides a fascinating insight into the development of Abstract art forms in the West. Whilst working independently their material had an obvious affinity with the avant garde dance movements and constructivist art ideals of the West. This exhibition is the first of its kind in the West.
On display are paintings, mobile sculptures, photographs, slide projections, music and reference material from the group's many performances and exhibitions throughout the 1950s. Artists displayed include: Hideko Fukushima, Shozo Kitadai, Kioji Otsuji, Katsuhiro Yamaguchi.
