堀尾貞治

Sadaharu Horio (堀尾貞治, Horio Sadaharu, born April 5, 1939, in Kobe, died November 3, 2018, in Kobe) was a Japanese visual and performance artist. From 1966 to 1972 he was a member of the Gutai Art Association and produced sculptural canvasses. From the late 1960s on, his work increasingly included large-scale installation artworks, performances and interventions in urban and natural environments. His performances often spontaneously involved the audience in collective creative activities. Horio became a crucial figure in the formation of an alternative and open art scene in the Kansai region. His work is characterized by a strong connection between the act of painting and everyday life, his repudiation of distinction between high and low art, and the ease and humor with which he adapted his performances and installations to changing sites and cultural contexts, making them accessible and open for different audiences.