The Japanese artistic group known as Gutai had a international impact from the late 1950s to the early 1970s. According to American artist Allan Kaprow, Gutai was the precursor of the Happening. Through French art critic Michel Tapie, the movement had close relations with the Informel artists.
Atsuko Tanaka (born in Osaka in 1932) was one of the founding members of Gutai and continues to work today on her contemplative paintings at her atelier in Nara. She is the creator of the "Electric Dress", one of the masterpieces of this century.
This profile bears witness to her bold and unrestrained creativity, along with the hardship she faces in everyday life.