<b>UNTITLED </b> / Takumi Shinagawac. 1950<b>SOLD</b></em>

Details

This remarkable black and white design is by the celebrated Sosaku Hanga artist Takumi Shinagawa. The artist first produced work when in Onchi’s circle, during and after WWII. Onchi instilled in Shinagawa a sense of experimentation, and Shinagawa went on to produce highly imaginative works, such as this striking composition.

At first glance, the work appears completely abstract, but portions of the human form emerge after closer examination. Like Onchi, who often used fragments of the human form for abstract compositions, Shinagawa is certainly exploring this theme. It is interesting to compare an Onchi work, illustrated below, to this composition.

Despite the conversation with his teacher, Shinagawa’s composition is a work entirely his own. The composition contains a sense of both motion and stillness. The work’s composition may reflect the artist’s interest in wire sculpture, such as his mobiles, pictured below.

Connoisseur's Note

This print is an early work for the artist, executed before 1960. The artist’s early signature executed in all caps attests to this dating. Shinagawa’s signature changed to a cursive style post-1959. This print has a layer of silver mica applied over the black background, which is very difficult to capture in photography that gives the design a sense of depth and contributes to the sense of motion the composition advances.