Rio by Risaburo Kimura

This is a spectacular interpretation of Rio de Janeiro by noted Japanese modernist artist Risaburo Kimura. Kimura is known for a large series of impressions of cities (known collectively as Great Cities of the World)--some real, most imaginary, that he created throughout his life. They are colorful, energetic, and each is a unique distillation of a city's essence. Rio is presented from a perspective high above the city. The location is unmistakeable. It features the dramatic Pão de Açúcar or Sugarloaf Mountain, an iconic symbol of the city. The mountain overlooks Guanabara Bay. The crowds of people are represented by small rectangles and effectively captures not only the crowding but the exuberance of the city. Missing from the image is the famous Christ the Redeemer statue on Corcovado Mountain. However, I think the reason for this is that Kimura is presenting the perspective that the statue has from its location. It's an incredible image that captures the essence of one of the world's great cities. The medium as with most of his cities is the screenprint which conveys the vibrant colors very effectively. It was issued in 1973 The piece is framed. The framed size is 27.5 x 31 inches. The sheet is floated so the entire sheet is visible. It is untrimmed and is 22 x 30 inches in size. The image is 19.75 x 29 inches. The title and edition size (248/250 all of his real cities were issued in an edition of 250) is given in pencil lower left. It is signed in pencil lower right. It is in excellent condition. No tears, paper loss, stains, fading, foxing, or other condition issues are present. An excellent work by this well-known artist.

Risaburo Kumura (1924-2014) was born in in Yokosuka City, Japan. He initially studied education followed by philosophy. He was always interested in art and imagined a career as an art critic and writer. However, in his studies he came under the influence of post-war Japanese artists including painter Tetsuzo Tanikawa but then gravitated to printmaking. He studied with two master printmakers, Teijiro Kubo and Masuo Ikeda. While he became familiar with all forms of printmaking, he was especially drawn to serigraphy (silk screen printing). This technique was becoming increasingly popular at this time promoted by pop art icons such as Andy Warhol, David Hockney, Roy Lichtenstein and many others. Kimura was an important figure in that he was beginning to transform traditional Japanese printmaking by incorporating Western influences. (His serigraph City 97 is a brilliant example of a modern print with obvious Japanese influence include a billboard in red ink that resembles an artist's chop mark). Kimura moved to New York in 1964 and spent the rest of his career there. It was here that he embarked on the Great Cities of the World series. Created from 1964 until the end of his life Kimura created more than 400 serigraphs and lithographs depicting real and imagined cities. They are colorful, abstract, and full of energy, much like the cities themselves. The named cities frequently included recognizable landmarks, but always on a colorful abstract background that rendered them vibrant and modern. The fictional cities were generally only numbered and reflected a wide range of colors and shapes drawn from Kimura's vivid imagination. While clearly recognizable as cities because of realistic elements included in the work, they are rendered as fantastical visions of urban structures. They are entirely without people or other trappings such as cars, buses, trams, etc. They are true originals--each as varied as the cities he has chosen to depict. He drew and hand-cut all of the stencils used for these prints. He exhibited extensively throughout his lifetime in the United States and abroad including at the Print Biennale of Tokyo. His work is held by major institutions across the world. His success at merging traditional Japanese techniques with modern art is supported by his work being held by the National Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto, and the Kyoto City Hall in Japan. Other institutions holding his work include the Philadelphia Art Museum, The Museum of Modern Art in New York City, The Brooklyn Museum, the Cincinnati Art Museum, and La Tertulia Museum in Colombia.