Morita Shiryū

[4] Around 1937, he moved to Tokyo to study calligraphy under Ueda Sōkyū (上田桑鳩).

In 1943, he returned home, and five years later, he moved to Kyoto City to immerse himself in its art community.

[6] He participated in meetings and exhibitions of the cross-genre study and discussion group Gendai Bijutsu Kondankai (現代美術懇談会, Contemporary Art Discussion Group, short: ゲンビ Genbi).

While at the Bokujinkai, Morita launched artistic and intellectual exchange with many prominent international abstract artists including Franz Kline, Pierre Soulages, Pierre Alechinsky, and Walasse Ting.

[7] Ryu chi Ryu (Dragon Knows Dragon) from 1964 is an example of Morita's large scale (42.8 x 86 inch) calligraphic paintings that incorporate unusual materials (aluminum flake pigment in polyvinyl acetate medium, yellow alkyd varnish on paper), and are devoid of textural meaning.