<b>WORK NO. 12</b> / Katsunori Hamanishi2004$3,500</em>

Details

Hamanishi's mezzotints reflect a balance of technical mastery for realism, Rimpa school aesthetics, and a sensibility for contemplative subjects that cooperate with energetic tensions. Silence—Work No. 12 best exemplifies the artist's strength in this medium. This astonishing diptych features a nocturnal landscape set in the tall grasses of fall. The artist showcases his incredible ability to reproduce photographic realism with an array of overgrown vegetation gently bending in the soft night wind. Just overhead are stylized Rimpa clouds that drape across the composition, casting subtle shadows below, further unveiling the soft breeze. Far above are rolling hills colored in crimson while the dying light of day gathers at a vanishing point between crescent hills. The right-side panel features a half-moon encased in gold leaf laying gently, almost buoyant, on the overgrown grasses. The realism found in the mezzotint printed portion of the outgrown vegetation is comfortably at odds with the stylized Rimpa style of the clouds, hills, and moon. Further still, the moon in repose in the right panel both recalls Rimpa school screens of the Edo period as well as the work of the surrealists of the mid-20th century. This diptych is stunning as much as it is fascinating, revealing an astonishingly successful synthesis of two seemingly unrelated styles.

Connoisseur's Note

This large-scale print is among the artist's most sought-after works. The diptych was produced in a limited run of only 70 impressions, which quickly sold out upon its release in 2004. This work has been kept in a flat-file by its original owner since its inception and retains its original pristine condition.