Purpose of the Exhibition

Cherries floating in the quiet darkness. Copper-plate prints of Yozo Hamaguchi (1909-2000) are impressive in their gradation of darkness containing light. In this exhibition, along with his copper-plate prints, “silver folding screen with orchid and bamboo” by a Nanga artist Hatano Kagai (1863-1944), who had been in contact with Yozo’s father, is displayed. The silver folding screen is arranged with bamboo and spring orchids on a clear stream and steep rocks, and the shades of the color black expresses even the rising mist and the fragrance of orchids, approaching us with a sense of realism. The influence of sumi-e (ink wash painting) in Hamaguchi’s works has been pointed out by critics many times to date. In search for further connections beyond painting style, please look at the works of two artists that resonate in eternal time and space, especially the harmony of black this time.