<b>NIGHTSTORM</b> / Fumio Kitaoka1947<b>SOLD</b></em>

Details

A storm arrives just as a fisherman pulls in his small boat for the night. Kitaoka Fumio captures the power of the coming storm by presenting us with the exact moment lightning strikes. The contrast between black and white is jarring as much as it is masterful. The white across the visual plane exposes the composition, appearing as a photographic negative. The white portion displays a fluidity, perhaps foreshadowing the incoming torrent, as it seems to cascade down from the higher ground at the top right towards the bottom left as it meets the sea. The power of this design is accentuated by the commanding size of this work, quite unusual for the artist in this early period of his career.

Connoisseur's Note

This impression comes from the Oliver Statler Collection and bears the Statler cataloging notation on the reverse. The design is most commonly known in a colored version, which lacks the blocks that create the sheets of rain in the background. This impressive work is most likely a unique variant Statler acquired from the artist during his time in post-war occupied Japan.