"The Sacred" (1987) is a stunning mixed media and gold leaf on Japanese paper on panel by renown Post-Modern Japanese artist Nobuo Sekine (Saitama, Japan, b. 1942), who is known for his essential participation in the "Mono-ha" art movement, and exploration of Japanese post-war culture through his artwork. Sekine's work has the ability to embrace nature, art, and the human condition effortlessly through sublime works such as "The Sacred", with his gold and silver leaf on paper works are among the most iconic and sought-after by museums and collectors. Influences in Sekine's oeuvre span from traditional Japanese arts and culture, to the artists of the Arte Povera movement, notably Caio Fonseca and Jannis Kounellis. This work measures 17.7 x 15 inches (45 x 38cm), is in excellent condition and comes professionally box-framed to larger dimensions. This is the first time "The Sacred" has come to international auction.

The work of Sekine is included in this year's seminal Museum of Modern Art, NY exhibition: "Tokyo 1955-1970", and was also recently featured in the major gallery 2012 exhibition: "Requiem for the Sun: The Art of Mono-Ha", at Blum & Poe, Los Angeles, California. The painting was also exhibited at Gladstone Gallery, New York, curated by Mika Yoshitake, an assistant curator at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington D.C.

Nobuo Sekine received his formal training in the arts with an arts degree from Tama Fine Art College, Tokyo, Japan in 1968. The artist is famous for his participation in the "Mono-ha" movement, which often included such raw materials as stone, wood, paper, fabric, sand and iron plates — set this group of artists apart from the mainstream of contemporary art at the time, which consisted of fabricated works similar to Primary Structures and various kinds of Kinetic and Op objects. His large-scale earth work "Phase of Nothingness", was shown at the Venice Biennale in 1970 to critical acclaim. 2012 and 2011 saw a a series of important museum and gallery shows for the artist including: "Rachofsky House: New Exhibition Space", Dallas, TX; "Ends of the Earth: Land Art to 1974", Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA (traveled to Haus der Kunst, Munich); "Tokyo 1955- 1970", Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY: "Requiem for the Sun: The Art of Mono-Ha", Blum & Poe, Los Angeles, California and Gladstone Gallery, NY. Other important Museum shows include 2005: "MONO-HA: Reconsideration", The National Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan and 2001:"Century", Tate Modern Art Gallery, London, U.K. The artist lives and works in Japan.

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