Gallery East

Australian Galleries in association with Gallery East

JAPANESE PRINTS: ANCIENT & MODERN

AU S T R A L I A N GA L L E R I E S SYDNEY

AU S T R A L I A N GA L L E R I E S SYDNEY

galleryeast.com.au

Invites you to the opening

JAPANESE PRINTS: ANCIENT & MODERN Saturday 20 February 2021 2pm - 4pm 15 Roylston Street Paddington NSW 2021 Floor talk by David Forrest CBE, Gallery East Director 6pm Friday 26 February 2021 RSVP essential for floor talk due to COVID restrictions Current until Sunday 14 March 2021 Open 7 days 10am to 6pm T 02 9360 5177 sydney@australiangalleries.com.au australiangalleries.com.au Front cover: OHARA KOSON A little Egret on a snow covered branch of a willow tree, snowflakes falling against a night sky 1910-22 woodblock print 37.5 x 17 cm

JAPANESE PRINTS: ANCIENT & MODERN The long and rich heritage of printmaking in Japan is well suited to the Japanese temperament which prizes excellence, precise craftmanship, respect for materials, artistic sensitivity and an eye for composition, balance and colour.

Japanese woodblock prints of the 18th and 19th Centuries record an exotic, vibrant, colourful and highly sophisticated society. The imagery takes the viewer into a world of Kabuki plays and actors, courtesans and beautiful women, heroes of legend, historical battles, the Japanese landscape and erotica. Their highly skilled colour woodblock printing techniques and designs had an extraordinary and lasting influence on Western art and graphic design.

Japanese Prints, Ancient and Modern features works by some of the greatest Japanese artists of the past, including Katsushika Hokusai, Ohara Koson and Kawase Hasui, whose landscape images are the true and worthy successor to Hiroshige. Ohara Koson’s masterpiece Egret on a snowy branch is being shown for the first time in Australia, alongside a collection of bird and flower prints.

The exhibition showcases three prints by Katsushika Hokusai, one of the great draftsmen of world art and the most highly regarded Japanese artist in the West, including two sheets from his masterpiece 100 Views of Mt. Fuji. Also exhibited is a rare experiment by Hokusai of Western-style landscape dated 1800, incorporating his signature in a curious imitation of Western calligraphy.

The tradition of Japanese printmaking experienced a renaissance both between the World Wars and into the modern era. Japanese prints of all periods have been collected ever since Japan opened to the West in the mid-19th Century and continue to resonate with collectors, artists and audiences today.

David Forrest CBE, Gallery East Director, 2021

Suzuki HARUNOBU (1725 – 1770) The first artist to produce full colour prints in the mid 1760s, his unique style deployed thin expressive lines to depict young, almost child-like women. His elegant effects, achieved through a subtle balance of the placement of figures on the sheet, beautiful sensuous lines and complex interrelationships between the figures, have ensured his prints are the most sought after from the mid-18th Century Japan.

1. The courtesan, Nenoka feeding a pet rat 1770 book plate 36 x 27 cm

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2. Ehon chiyo no matsu (A picture book of eternal pines) I 1767 double book plates 17 x 25 cm 3. Ehon chiyo no matsu (A picture book of eternal pines) II 1767 double book plates 17 x 25 cm 4. Ehon chiyo no matsu (A picture book of eternal pines) V 1767 double book plates 17 x 25 cm

Katsushika HOKUSAI (1760 – 1849) One of the great draftsmen of world art, he is the most highly regarded Japanese artist in the West. His long life was devoted to a constant and daring exploration of design and painting. He is responsible for many of the great masterpieces of Ukiyo-e, including The Great Wave and his illustrated 3 volume book, 100 Views of Fuji.

5. Fuji with a cuckoo (Kakko no Fuji) c.1840 single page illustration 18 x 25 cm

6. Fuji in a downpour (Chinowa no Fuji) c.1840 single page illustration 22 x 15 cm

7. Enoshima and Fuji 1800 woodblock print 12.5 x 18.5 cm

Ikeda EISEN (1790 – 1848)

8. Bound phallus c.1830 book page 10 x 4 cm

Kikugawa EIZAN (1787 – 1867) The most prolific and the best of the followers of Utamaro.

His work, focusing on images of beautiful women, is noted for its sensitivity and lyricism. He abandoned printmaking for painting c.1830.

9. Waitress with an oil lamp c.1820 woodblock print, kakemono 74 x 25 cm

Utagawa TOYOKUNI II (1777 – 1835) A pupil, son-in-law and adopted son of Toyokuni, who adopted the name Toyokuni II on the death of his master in 1826, a name Kunisada never recognized. Overshadowed by the genius of Kunisada, Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi, his work nevertheless is striking and skillful.

10. A beautiful woman shaving her forehead with a razor in front of a mirror.

Zodiac sign; Tiger c.1833 woodblock print 35 x 25 cm

Utagawa KUNISADA (TOYOKUNI III) (1786 – 1864) The most popular, commercially successful and prolific Ukiyo-e artist of the 19th Century, Kunisada was the principal chronicler of Kabuki theatre performances and the actors who starred in them. Although Kabuki actors formed about 70% of his output, he designed many prints of beautiful women, erotica and illustrations for novels. A pupil of Utagawa Toyokuni, Kunisada adopted his master’s name in 1844 on the death of Toyokuni II (Toyoshige) whose assumption of that name, Kunisada never recognised.

11. A place to come to in the cool of the evening 1844 woodblock print (triptych) 35 x 75 cm

12. Portrait of the actor, Matsumoto Koshiro in the role of Banzui Chobei c.1833 woodblock print 38 x 26.5 cm

13. The courtesan, Akogi, standing beside a picnic box c.1830 woodblock print 37 x 25.5 cm

14. The courtesan, Hanaogi of the Ogiya on Edomachi in the New Yoshiwara c.1823 woodblock print 36 x 24 cm

15. Ono no Komachi, a Heian poetess noted for her beauty, washing ink out of a book to prove it’s a fraud 1859 woodblock print 36 x 25 cm

16. Confrontation between the hero, Saba Goro Teruhide and the evil regent, Ashikaga Mitsuuji, in the kabuki play, ‘Chi Jin Yu Mitsugumi Sakazuki’ c.1864 woodblock print (diptych) 36.5 x 50 cm

17. View of Kanaya (Kanaya no zu) 1838 woodblock print 25 x 17.5 cm

18. The actor Ichikawa Danjuro VIII in the role of Shinozuka Iganokami Sadatsune, wearing fukk kumadori face makeup, raising his fan with his right hand and grasping an enormous sword in his left c. 1852 woodblock print 36.5 x 24.5 cm

19. Onoe Baiko as the spirit of the cherry tree (Komachi zakura no sei Onoe Baiko) and Nakamura Fukusuke I as Otomo Kuronushi. c.1830 woodblock print (diptych) 36 x 46 cm

Utagawa KUNISADA (1786 – 1864) and Ando HIROSHIGE (1797 – 1858)

20. A kabuki actor on the seashore 1847 woodblock fan print 23 x 29 cm

Utagawa KUNISADA (1786 – 1864) and Ando HIROSHIGE II (1826 – 1869) Pupil and son-in-law of Hiroshige, he continued his master’s role as a principal chronicler of the Japanese landscape.

21. Catching fireflies by the Uji River in Yamashiro (Yamashiro Ujikawa hotarugari no zu) 1861 woodblock print (triptych) 36 x 74.5 cm

Ando HIROSHIGE (1797 – 1858) More than any other artist, Hiroshige’s work is responsible for the Westerner’s view of the quintessential Japanese landscape. His print designs have enormous charm, show great technical virtuosity and continue to enjoy enormous popularity both within and outside Japan.

22. The junction of the pilgrim’s road to Isle at Seki (Seki, Sangudo oiwake) 1855 woodblock print 34 x 22.5 cm

23. Otsuki Plain in Kai (Otsu No Hara, Kai) 1858 woodblock print 34 x 22.5 cm

24. Station number 50, Tsuchiyama, Spring Rain (Tsuchiyama, haru no ame) 1833-34 woodblock print 24 x 35.5 cm

Ando HIROSHIGE II (1826 – 1869) Pupil and son-in-law of Hiroshige, he continued his master’s role as a principal chronicler of the Japanese landscape.

25. Evening view, Paulowina Plantation at Akasaka in a downpour 1859 woodblock print 36 x 24 cm

Utagawa KUNIYOSHI (1797 – 1861) Of the four dominant print artists of the 19th Century (Hokusai, Hiroshige and Kunisada) Utagawa Kuniyoshi, was possibly the most experimental and versatile. Making his name through warrior prints, he was equally active in other genres such as erotica, beautiful women, caricatures and landscapes.

26. Waterfall-striped materials in answer to earnest prayer (Daigwan jôju ari-ga-taki-jima) c.1845 woodblock print 36.5 x 25 cm

27. The wife of Kajiwara Genda Kagesue with a small girl carrying a branch of cherry blossoms c.1841 woodblock print 36.5 x 24 cm

Utagawa YOSHITSUYA (1822 – 1866) Important pupil of Kuniyoshi, he worked in the style of his master and is renowned for his designs of tattoos, giant serpents and other legendary serpents.

28. The battle between Minamoto no Yorimitsu with his men and the robber chief, Hakamoddare no Mochisuke who is aided by a giant serpent 1858 woodblock print (triptych) 35 x 74 cm

Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI (1839 – 1892) Widely recognized as the last great master of the Ukiyo-e genre of woodblock printing, he is also regarded as one of the forms greatest innovators. Renowned for his images of beauty and violence, he almost singlehandedly managed to push the traditional Japanese woodblock print to a new level before it effectively died with him. His reputation has only continued to grow, both in the West and among younger Japanese, and he is now almost universally recognized as the greatest Japanese artist of his era.

29. Samurai Sota fighting the monster Nue 1883 woodblock print 36.5 x 24. 5 cm

30. The spirit of the cherry tree (Komachi-zakuro no sei) 1889 woodblock print 35 x 24 cm

Toyohara CHIKANOBU (1838 – 1912) A prolific designer of triptychs, Chikanobu’s favourite subjects were histories from Japan’s past and genre scenes with women and children. His best known series are triptychs showing court life in and around the Chiyoda Palace, concentrating on the history and traditional values of old Japan.

31. Full moon among the plum trees: two women holding musical instruments, the niko and shamisen 1893 woodblock print (triptych) 35.5 x 72.5 cm

32. A snow scene on the banks of the Sumida River 1891 woodblock print (triptych) 35.5 x 70 cm

Shibata ZESHIN (1807 – 1891) Known as “Japan’s greatest lacquerer” his reputation as a painter and print artist is more complex. In Japan, he is known as both too modern and as overly conservative.

In the West he is highly regarded for his aesthetic sensitivity and highly skilled work.

33. Three travellers caught in a sudden storm c.1880 woodblock print 24.5 x 25 cm

Kawase HASUI (1883 – 1957) One of the two foremost 20th Century Japanese landscape artists and greatest exponent of Shin Hanga (New Prints movement), Hasui designed incomparable woodblock prints over a career spanning 40 years, travelling extensively but entirely within Japan. He is seen as Hiroshige’s true successor.

In 1956 he was named a Living Treasure of Japan.

34. Kankai Temple, Beppu (Beppu Kankai) 1927 woodblock print 24 x 39 cm

Kenyu OGASAWARA (c.1990s) Kenyu Ogasawara is a Western style painter specialising in handcoloured stencil prints depicting the rural scenery of Japan which is disappearing with the wave of modernisation.

35. Yu-no-ko lake covered in snow in Oku Nikko (Oku Nikko, Yu-no-Ko) c. 1990 traditional Japanese stencil print (Katazone) 42 x 58 cm

Hideaki KATO (b.1954) Hideaki Kato and his father, Yuichiro, are well known silkscreen artists in Kyoto. They have depicted the quaint scenery, tranquil tea rooms and enigmatic Noh theatre around their beloved Kyoto for decades.

36. The hero, Kamakura Gongoro 2014 silkscreen 50.5 x 68.5 cm edition 10/200

Katsunori HAMANISHI (b.1949) One of the world’s acknowledged masters of the most demanding of all printing techniques, the mezzotint. His work is represented in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The British Museum, Hokkaido Museum of Art, Japan, The Art Institute of Chicago, Cleveland Museum of Art, The Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, Library of Congress, Washington D.C.

37. Sight 1991 mezzotint 34.5 x 29 cm

38. Ex libris: Taking a bath

39. Ex libris: Mount Fuji in Sunset

40. Ex libris: garden bridge in moonlight

c.1990

c.1990

c.1990

mezzotint

mezzotint

mezzotint

17 x 12.5 cm

15 x 11 cm

15 x 11 cm

41. Ex libris: Kimono

42. Ex libris: Castle kimono

c.1990

c.1990

mezzotint

mezzotint

20 x 14 cm

14.5 x 21 cm

Kawanabe KYOSAI (1831 – 1889) Considered by some to be the greatest successor of Hokusai, as well as the first political caricaturist of Japan.

Kyosai’s work mirrored his life in its wild and undisciplined nature, displaying a fantastic exuberance, but technically excellent draughtsman ship.

43. White egret c.1880 woodblock print 38 x 26 cm

Imao KEINEN (1845 – 1923) Born in Kyoto, Imao Keinen studied classical Japanese painting, calligraphy and printmaking. Initially, a textile designer, he established his own studio and made his reputation as a printmaker and painter, particularly of birds and flowers. In 1904 he was appointed a member of the Art Committee of the Imperial Household, and in 1919 he became a member of the Imperial Art Academy. He exhibited widely in Japan and in Paris.

44. A kingfisher, fish and irises 1900-20 woodblock print 38 x 19.5 cm

Ide GAKUSUI (1899 – 1982) A painter by training, he started his career as a woodblock artist in 1949, after returning to Japan from China. Working with the famed Shin Hanga publisher Watanabe, he focused on Kacho-e (bird-and-flower pictures) and is particularly known for his prints of cranes and herons, which feature distinctly bold, geometric lines.

45. Egret standing in the rain c.1950 woodblock print 36 x 23 cm

Ohara KOSON (1877 – 1945) Ohara Koson is considered by many to be the foremost 20th Century designer of bird-and-flower prints (Kacho-e).

His designs for a primarily Western market and range from haunting realism to humorous depictions of animals at play.

His prints continue to be appreciated as among the finest examples of animal and botanical portraits produced by the Shin Hanga (New Prints) movement.

46. A pair of sleeping mallards in the moonlight c.1930 woodblock print 38.5 x 19 cm

47. A little egret on a snow covered branch of a willow tree, snowflakes falling against a night sky 1910-22 woodblock print 37.5 x 17 cm

48. A pair of quail among grasses and ivy in full moonlight 1926 woodblock print 37 x 19 cm

49. Basket of peonies, magnolia, prunus and narcissus flowers 1932 woodblock print 36 x 23.5 cm

50. A pheasant beside a waterfall 1932 woodblock print 34 x 18.5 cm

51. Three mice and a feather c.1900 woodblock print 34.5 x 19 cm

52. Leaping trout c.1900 woodblock print 34.5 x 19 cm

Takahashi SHOTEI (1871 – 1945) In 1907, as a successful artist, he was recruited by Shōzaburō Watanabe to contribute to the Shin Hanga (New Prints) art movement in Japan. Watanabe helped to fulfill the Western demand for Ukiyo-e woodblock prints which would be similar to familiar historical masters of that genre, including Hiroshige.

53. Swallows in the rain c.1910 woodblock print 37.5 x 17 cm

Yoshimoto GESSO (1881 – 1936) Little is recorded about the artist, but it is thought that he may have been a painter, with his designs transformed by professional carvers and printers into woodblock prints on commission of the publishers Hasegawa and Nishinomiya.

54. Rooster and hen in a barn c.1920 woodblock print 36.5 x 17.5 cm

Nishamura HODO (c. 1930s-40s) Published by Takemura Hideo, Hodo Nishimura was active as designer of bird-and-flower prints in Shin Hanga style in the 1930s: the two pet rabbits perhaps the most popular.

55. Pet Rabbits c.1940 woodblock print 39.5 x 28 cm

Takayoshi TOTOKI (b. 1948) Takayoshi Totoki was born in Yanagawa city in Fukuoka prefecture. After he finished the graduate school of Tokyo Art and Crafts College (Tokyo Gakugei Daigaku) in 1977, he became the assistant of the oil painting department of the college during 1978-81. He studied art in Los Angeles and New York in 1981-83. He was a professor at the Nagoya Art and Crafts College.

56. Rabbit - red shoes - 2 c.1980 lithograph 50.5 x 22 cm edition 84/150

Hideo TAKEDA (b. 1948) The only contemporary Japanese artist to have had a solo exhibition at the British Museum. Lawrence Smith of the Museum suggests that the artist “expresses the humour, pathos, cruelty, and sheer absurdity of life”. Takeda, who styles himself as a caricaturist, rather than an artist, is perhaps the greatest artist of bizarre imagery in Japanese prints today.

57. Altamira - sea otter (enhydra lutris) pursuing an octopus 1994 silkscreen 52 x 72 cm edition 1/120

58. Altamira - adelie penquins (pygosceles adeliae) gathering pebbles for their nest 1994 silkscreen 52 x 72 cm edition 80/120

Kamisaka SEKKA (1866 –1942) Sekka was an important artistic figure in early 20th Century Japan.

In 1901, he was sent by the Japanese government to Glasgow where he was heavily influenced by Art Nouveau. Returning to Japan, he taught at the newly opened Kyoto Municipal School of Arts and Crafts, experimented with Western tastes, styles, and methods, and incorporated them into his otherwise traditional Japanese-style works.

59. Nichiren in exile 1909 woodblock print 50.5 x 22 cm

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