Four & Six No. 1 is a significant example of Naohiko Inukai’s hard-edge abstraction from this period. This fresh, graphic work features geometric clarity and crisp, interlocking forms that are truly intriguing – especially when seen up close. During the 1960s, the artist was exploring the boundaries of color, structure, and minimalist formalism. The complexity that occurs when the artist adds the light green band on either side of the blue vertical lines is truly genius.
Inukai’s use of acrylic on canvas allowed for a flat, uninterrupted color field which was central to hard-edge painting and the emphasis on the clean transition between hues and geometric sections. The inscription (“To Matt at Hanover Summitt, 1969”) on the verso of the painting gives this work a deep and meaningful provenance as Inukai must have taught alongside Matthew Wysocki at Dartmouth in the late 1960s & early 1970s.