The Letter (From Kyoto)

Takahashi Rikio, artist

1917–1999

The Letter (From Kyoto), 1984, Showa period (1926–1989)

Where object was made: Japan

Material/technique: color woodcut; embossing

Dimensions:
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 422 x 416 mm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 16 5/8 x 16 3/8 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 25 x 20 in

Credit line: Museum purchase: Lucy Shaw Schultz Fund

Accession number: 1990.0066

Not on display

Add to portfolio

If you wish to reproduce this image, please submit an image request

Images

Label texts

Archive Label date unknown:
Takahashi Rikio is the foremost pupil of Onchi Kōshirō (1891-1955), a pivotal figure in the experimental Sōsaku Hanga (Creative Print) movement of the early twentieth century. Takahashi remains a disciple of Onchi's lyrical abstract style and, like his teacher's, his work reflects the influence of both early twentieth century European artists such as Wassily Kandinsky and of older Japanese and Chinese classical traditions. In The Letter (from Kyoto), Takahashi has used blind embossing to print the characters of his "letter" and has overlapped blocks of color to create new tones, a technique he learned from Onchi Kōshirō.

Archive Label date unknown:
Takahashi Rikio is the foremost pupil of Onchi Kōshirō, with whom he studied until Onchi's death in 1957. Takahashi remains a disciple of Onchi's lyrical abstract style, which is demonstrated in his use of his teacher's favorite technique-- the overlapping of blocks of color to create new tones. In this work, Takahashi also has used blind embossing to print the characters of his "letter.