Born in Osaka in 1932, Atsuko Tanaka’s art career was deeply inspired by the resurgent and flourishing power of postwar Japan. At the age of 19, she studied at Kyoto Municipal College of Art (now Kyoto City University of Arts), and later at the Art Institute of Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts (now Art Institute of Osaka Municipal Museum of Art), pursuing her artistic career in a more open environment. In 1954, she joined Zero Kai, an art society founded by Akira Kanayama, Kazuo Shiraga, and Saburo Murakami. The aim of the society was to break down conventions and develop a unique path for Japan contemporary art. Afterwards, the members of the society including Tanaka joined the Gutai Art Association founded by Jiro Yoshihara. The belief of Gutai derives from that of Zen, which looks into the original physicality and materiality of things. Gutai artists explored the non-affiliated interaction between spirit and matter on an equal basis, and further gave form to the spirituality of matter. Whether matter (material)-wise or spirit (concept)-wise, the artists dedicated themselves to developing new forms of art.

Tanaka’s work, Work (Bell), was shown at the first Gutai Art Exhibition in 1955. Another work, Electric Dress, was exhibited the next year. The dress consisted of electric wires and hundreds of colored neon light bulbs, analogizing the blood vessels and organs of a human body. Flickering lights were reflected upon the performer's face, illustrating the connection between people and physical energy, such as light and electricity. The artist said that she even shuddered when the electric current flowed through, sensing a glimpse of death. Tanaka’s avant-garde art served as a grand breakthrough in art history, and reached a peak of popularity at the time. She opened up a repository created by the artists themselves and stands out as a rare female talent from that era.

02g is a work Tanaka created later in her life. Reflecting her beliefs, the work perfectly exhibits her classic and characteristic style. Five circles filled with dots cling to each other, as if the cells are fusing, crossing the borders of their individuality. This also symbolizes the moment when electrons and positrons collide, creating light and electricity. In this virtual space of the painting, curves interweave with each other to create an intricate web. The artist’s erudite spirit brings an energy to every corner of the painting, overwhelming the viewers with its invisible power. The artwork, with its rationality and sensibility, explores the unknown from a single cell to the universe. Unlike pursuit of a “non-existence” by many others, Atsuko Tanaka creates works that embrace the real world with pure abstract expression. In a gentle yet resolute manner, she expresses all possibilities that lay in the connection between the material and spiritual worlds.