Sadamasa Motonaga was one of the principal members of the Gutai art association known for his playful, humorous paintings replete with color. Along with other-worldly and cartoon-like motifs that derive from an interest in manga and popular culture, he is also known for his distinct methodologies such as an installation using colored water, the use of spray paint, as well as directly dripping and letting paint flow on the canvas. His paintings are inhabited with a visual language that connects the postwar artistic sentiment with that of contemporary Japanese painters.

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Motonaga was born in 1922 in Mie, Japan, and passed away in 2011. An autodidact, his artistic style was influenced by fellow members of Gutai, and his year spent in New York is said to have had a profound influence in the fluidity of his work. His work has been exhibited at the Venice Biennale in 2009 and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in 2013. His work is included in various public institutions throughout the world.