# Shozo Shimamoto artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/shozo-shimamoto/
Profile generated: 2026-05-30T22:13:10.876Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1928-01-01
- Death date: 2013-01-25
- Nationality: Japanese
- Movements: Gutai Art Association, Japanese post-war avant-garde
- Common media: Painting (thrown paint, bottle-smash technique), Performance art, Installation art, Sound art, Film, Works on paper (punctured newspaper)

## About Shozo Shimamoto

Shozo Shimamoto (1928–2013) was a Japanese performance and multimedia artist best known as a founding member of the Gutai Art Association, the pioneering post-war avant-garde group formed in 1954 under the leadership of Jirō Yoshihara. Born and based in Osaka, Shimamoto studied with Yoshihara from 1947 and became one of Gutai's most inventive practitioners. His signature techniques included smashing paint-filled bottles onto canvases, piercing layered sheets of newspaper, and composing sound and film works. He was instrumental in pushing Gutai toward performance-based practice at a time when Yoshihara was shifting focus toward painting. Collectors encounter Shimamoto's work across major museum and auction contexts, where his early Gutai-era pieces are regarded as significant contributions to post-war international art.

## Common works and media

Shimamoto produced acrylic and oil paintings created by throwing or smashing bottles of paint onto canvas, mixed-media works incorporating punctured or layered newspaper, performance art documentation, installation pieces, sound art compositions, and experimental film. Large-scale abstract canvases with bold color splashes are his most frequently encountered works at auction. Prints and works on paper from later periods also appear in the secondary market.

## Market and appraisal context

Shimamoto's auction profile is anchored by his role as a Gutai founding member. Large-scale thrown-paint canvases and early Gutai-period works command the strongest interest at major auction houses. Provenance tracing to Gutai exhibitions, the Yoshihara circle, or institutional collections can significantly affect appraisal. Later works, prints, and performance documentation appear at more accessible price levels. Condition assessment is important for works on fragile supports such as punctured newspaper. Collectors should verify attribution through published Gutai scholarship, as multiple members explored similar experimental approaches.

## Appraisily data basis

This Appraisily artist page combines structured identity research from museum records, library authority files, and art-historical references with available auction-house context, sale records, and comparable lot data when those records are present in the Appraisily database.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2551656
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shozo_Shimamoto
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500125014
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/113907741/
- Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/shozo-shimamoto-4753
- RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History): https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/329668