<b>SNOWY VILLAGE </b> / Katsuhira Tokushic. 1930s<b>SOLD</b></em>

Details

Tokushi Katsuhira was a self-taught woodblock print artist closely associated with the mingei or Japanese Folk art tradition. Working in the Sosaku Hanga idiom, Katsuhira self-directed his prints by carving and printings his own blocks. Katsuhira’s work often focused on people from the country—villagers and craftsman—that kept alive the traditions of old Japan. Much like the work of some Shin Hanga artists such as Hasui, there is a strong sense of nostalgia for simpler times in his designs.

In this work, Katsuhira provides the viewer with a glimpse of a winter night as the falling snow accumulates in a quiet Japanese town. The design features two figures in silhouette inhabiting a snow globe-like landscape. The artist’s rough cuts through the woodblock translate into a fascinating study of light as the snow accumulates. In concert with the design, this work has a charming quality that owes much to the artist’s direct carving technique and expressive rich pigments.

Connoisseur's Note

This print, as with all of Katsuhira’s work, is self-carved and self-printed. The production of his print designs was always in small manageable runs. As such, all of Katsuhira’s print designs are quite rare.