  
  Takesada Matsutani is a contemporary artist born in 1937 in Osaka, Japan. He is currently living and working in Paris, France.

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News

◆ Hashigakari — Works by Matsutani Takesada.
Solo exhibition, Musée Cernuschi, Paris, FR,
Sept. 8 — Dec. 13, 2026. Learn more.
◆ In the Studio : Takesada Matsutani.
Text by Mika Yoshitake, Hauser & Wirth Publishers.
Published on Apr. 30, 2026. Learn more.

Matsutani has long combined two and three dimensional works on canvas, paper and in installations.

He creates bulges, bubbles and drips, using vinyl adhesive and covering the surfaces with repeated strokes of graphite pencil. Begin exploring:

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Work Navigation

I. Gutai

View works from 1960 — 1967

II. Hard Edge

View works from 1968 — 1975

III. Graphite

View works from 1976 — Present

IV. Objects

View works from 1960 — Present

V. Recent Experiments

View works from 2013 — Present

I. Gutai

View works from 1960 — 1967

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II. Hard Edge

View works from 1968 — 1978

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III. Graphite

View works from 1979 — Present

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IV. Objects

View works from 1960 — Present

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V. Recent Experiments

View works from 2013 — Present

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News, Exhibitions, Publications and Announcements

Hashigakari. Works by Matsutani Takesada.
Solo exhibition, Musée Cernuschi, Paris, France, September 8 — December 13, 2026.

Takesada Matsutani. Shifting Boundaries.
Solo exhibition, Hauser & Wirth, London, UK, Feb. 5 – Apr. 18, 2026.

Publications

The following publications span Matsutani's practice and body of work. Available publications can be ordered through the links below.

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Publications

Takesada Matsutani

Accompanying a major retrospective of Matsutani’s work at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, 2019, this catalogue fully illustrates the exhibition’s artworks ranging from 1958 to 2019.  

Essays by Valérie Douniaux, Christine Macel, Yves Peyré and Toshio Yamanashi.  Zürich, Hauser & Wirth Publishers / Paris, Centre Pompidou, 2019. Français / English. 

Available to Order

Matsutani, Currents

Published on occasion of the exhibition of the artist at the Ōtani Memorial Art Museum in Nishinomiya in 2015.  

Essays by Takesada Matsutani, Izumi Nakajima, Germain Viatte.  Nishinomiya, Ōtani Memorial Art Museum, 2015. English / Français / Japanese.

Takesada Matsutani, A Matrix

Published on occasion of the first exhibition of the artist at Hauser & Wirth in London in 2013.  

Essays by Midori Nishizawa, Ming Tiampo, Kate Van Houten, interview with the artist by Mizusawa Tsutomu and Inaniwa Sawako. Zürich, Hauser & Wirth Publishers / JRP Ringier, 2013. English. 

Available to Order

Watch Matsutani interviewed in his Paris Studio. Cover photo by Michel Lunardelli.

Takesada Matsutani is a Japanese painter, printmaker and installation artist. A member of the second generation of avant-garde Gutai artists, Matsutani is known for his iconic use of vinyl adhesive and graphite pencil, from bulbous sensual forms to monumental canvases of pencilled streams.

His works can be found in the collections of the Centre Pompidou and the Institut national d’histoire de l’art (INHA) in Paris, the National Museum of Art in Tokyo, and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, among others. Matsutani lives and works between Paris, France and Nishinomiya, Japan.

In 2015, he has launched the SHŌEN — Fonds Matsutani with his wife, Kate Van Houten. Its mission is to preserve and diffuse their works and render their archives accessible ; to encourage artistic creation and cultural exchange via the Prix Matsutani ; and to support scientific research and care initiatives in the field of visible and invisible disabilities.

Download his complete Bio, Bibliography, Press