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Yamaguchi Gen (1896–1976)
Japan, Showa era
Woodblock print; Ink and color on paper
H x W: 25.5 × 28 cm (10 1/16 × 11 in)
Purchase and partial gift of the Kenneth and Kiyo Hitch Collection from Kiyo Hitch with funds from the Mary Griggs Burke Endowment
S2019.3.1949
Yamaguchi Gen’s engagement with abstraction and his experimentation with printing materials reflected the mood of artistic freedom that flowered in the immediate postwar era. He made this abstract composition by printing directly from leaves, a feather, a flower, other organic objects, and woodblocks. Rather than trying to evoke a specific subject, here Yamaguchi focuses on the physicality of the materials he used to make the print. On the one hand, he has printed the leaves, feather, and flower with such clarity that they are instantly recognizable. But his novel arrangement with the less identifiable forms prompts us to consider these objects anew.
