Composition Z by Hideo Hagiwara
This is a woodblock print titled Composition Z by noted Japanese Sōsaku-hanga artist Hideo Hagiwara. It is the last in his large series ‘Composition’ (‘Konpojishon’) where he created one print for each letter of the Western alphabet. This is from early in Hagiwara's career--1958, where he is exploring novel techniques in woodblock printing. It is an abstract composed of vertical blocks of color on a dark background. In a major departure from traditional Japanese printmaking, these vertical block are printed from found driftwood and incorporate the shapes and grain of the found objects. Hagiwara was very aware of Western art movements and it is interesting to speculate that incorporation of images created from found objects could be in recognition of the found object movement by artists such as Louise Nevelson. The vertical blocks are framed by a gold border on the right and a thick black border on top. A fascinating image that really shows the innovation and creativity of Hagiwara early in his career. It is signed and dated in pencil lower left hideo hagiwara 58 and titled 'Composition Z' lower center. The edition 17/30 is lower right. This is a very small edition for the artist. The image is 15 x 20 3/4 inches. It is framed and matted. The mat and backing are not archival. The framed size is 23 x 29 1/2 inches. The print itself is in excellent condition without fading, staining, foxing, tears, or paper loss. There could be some mat burn at the periphery, given the non-archival materials, but it has not been examined out of the frame. It's a striking example of Hagiwara's early work.
Hideo Hagiwara (1913-2007) Hideo Hagiwara was a renowned Japanese printmaker whose career encompassed most of the 20th century. He was a prominent leader of the Sōsaku-hanga ("creative prints") movement of woodblock printing which, in contrast to prior printmaking movements in Japan, held that the artist should be the sole creator motivated by a desire for self-expression, and advocated principles of art that is "self-drawn" (自画 jiga), "self-carved" (自刻 jikoku) and "self-printed" (自摺 jizuri). Hagiwara studied at the Tokyo Academy of Fine Arts. After the war his career was characterized by innovations in printmaking that heavily influenced contemporary and subsequent generations of Japanese printmakers. His reputation expanded beyond Japan helped by a feature article in Time Magazine in 1959. In addition to his creative work, he held the prestigious position of Chief Director of the Japan Print Association from 1979-2000. He received many awards most notably a Purple Ribbon Medal from the Japanese Government in 1983 and a Gold Medal from the Nobel Prize Committee in 1989. One of his most famous works is a series of 50 prints of Mount Fuji. Mount Fuji has been a favored subject of Japanese artists for hundreds of years, so this series reflects not only Hagiwara’s innovative printmaking, but pays homage to the long tradition of printmaking in Japan. His work is held in important collections all over the world including the Museum of Modern Art, New York, The Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the New South Wales Art Gallery, Sidney, and the Vienna National Museum of Art.
Price: $775
Framed Size: 23 x 29.5 inches
Plate Size: 15 x 20.75 inches
Condition: Very Good
Medium: Wood Block Print
Subject: Abstract
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