Spotlight on Maki Haku Through January 2013 Asian Galleries
The Japanese artist Maki Haku became famous for his deeply embossed prints of abstracted and playfully arranged Chinese characters. In this print,
entitled 76-11 (Wind-D), the Chinese
pictographic character for “Wind” forms a striking design. It also evokes the
Buddhist symbolism of pure breezes of
virtue that restore the spirit by sweeping away clouds of delusion.
Maki printed his works on dampened,
multilayered sheets of Japanese paper using a plywood-block with carved-out
areas built up in relief with cement paste and textured with various tools. The
paper was then pressed onto the block
by hand using a steel roller or an etching
press. Using stencils and metal rollers
water-based and oil-based colors were then applied onto the block, or directly onto the embossed paper. Maki finally
added a red seal, and one or two handapplied “splashes” of color in what he called “special shapes.”
Maki Haku (Japanese, 1924-2000), 76-11 (Wind – D), 1976, ed. 40/151, wood and cement block relief print on paper; gift of The Wise Collection, Joanne and Douglas Wise, 2011.386