<b>MOONLIGHT IN A BAMBOO GROVE</b> / Bernard Leach1924<b>SOLD</b></em>

Details

Born in Hong Kong, British artist Bernard Leach is most often remembered as a potter. However, among print aficionados, whose focus is early twentieth-century prints, Leach’s work represents an evocative and pioneering force that was the source of inspiration to dozens of early Japanese printmakers.

Leach’s engagement with printmaking occurred in London at the London School of Art, where he studied painting and printmaking under Frank Brangwyn. Having the desire to return to Asia, Leach traveled to Japan and China in 1909–1920, where he aimed to teach the art form and gain inspiration from the idyllic and romantic settings of his childhood.

Leach’s arrival in Japan came at an auspicious time. The spirit of this era gave birth to the Sosaku Hanga movement: burgeoning Japanese artists aspired to take up printmaking and self-produce work that satisfied their artistic aims. Leach exhibited and sold his printed work at small art exhibitions and gatherings, which attracted the attention of the well-known Japanese artist Ryūsei Kishida and influenced dozens of others. Tomimoto Kenkichi, Santomi Ton, Oda Kazuma, Junzo Kon, Sekino Junichiro, and Takeo Takei all indicate Leach as an artistic influence.

Printed work from Leach’s time in Asia possesses a directness that reflects an open engagement with the native cultures. Perhaps Leach’s childhood in Asia granted him the ease to work and travel in locales that were strikingly foreign to Westerners.

With moonlight filtering through a solitary bamboo grove and illuminating a rustic structure, this charming Japanese design evokes the thought and aesthetics of the Japanese tea ceremony or wabi-sabi established by Sen no Rikyu in the 16th century.

As a philosophy, wabi-sabi centers toward the acceptance of transience and imperfection. The aesthetic honors the imperfection, impermanence, and incompleteness in nature. Naturally, well-worn forms are elevated as an artistic expression and are celebrated for the clarity and potency of their simplicity. This lone and remote cabin with only the moonlight as its guest eloquently evokes this traditional Japanese aesthetic.

Leach’s Moonlit in a Bamboo Grove is highly evocative and replete with traditional Japanese poetics and brings to mind the famous poem by the 17th-century poet Ryokan.

The thief left it behind:

the moon

at my window.

Connoisseur's Note

Self-printed lifetime impressions of Bernard Leach prints are exceedingly rare. Though Leach aimed to produce prints to make a living, teaching provided him a livelihood as his prints’ sales were sparse. His output in Asia totaled up to three dozen designs, but none of the prints were made in large editions. This work, dated 1924, was most likely executed when the artist returned to London. The design is printed on the same older stock paper as his early prints. Both the printing quality and the materials used in this impression are identical to early prints of this design. The work is titled and signed by the artist in pencil at the bottom margin.