MEDSAN - Blastoise Waterfall (滝の亀) - UNIQUE WORK
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Selected by Heiko Neitzel
Holds a master’s in art and culture mediation with extensive gallery assistant experience.
Gallery Estimate € 600 - € 800
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Description from the seller
THERE IS ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD - EDITION 1/1
With this vertical-format work, Medsan places Blastoise, the final evolution of Squirtle in the first Pokémon generation, at the summit of a gorge straight out of a Japanese print. The composition openly cites the great tradition of ukiyo-e cascades, the famous Cascade series in the various provinces of Katsushika Hokusai and the Kirifuri Waterfall on Mount Kurokami in particular. The red cartouche at the top left displays 滝の亀, “the turtle of the waterfall,” as a true print title. The water monster is no longer a video game fighter: it becomes a tutelary deity of the landscape, the literal source of the torrent.
The handling respects the grammar of Japanese woodblock printing: regular black contour lines, flat color fields layered over each other, bokashi gradient in the sky, and a total absence of cast shadow. The palette remains faithful to aizuri-e, that Prussian blue that arrived in Japan in the 19th century, ranging from the nocturnal blue of the sky to the gray-green of the mosses, warmed by the browns of the shell and the cinnabar red of the cartouche and the artist’s seal at the bottom right. The froth is rendered by the characteristic looping swirls of Hokusai, while the paper grain and the wood fibers remain visible across the surface. The two dorsal fins extend the natural falls with perfect logic, and the three travelers wearing straw hats, tiny in the foreground, give a vertiginous sense of scale to the scene.
The mashup speaks to the rightful place of Pokémon in the Japanese imagination: these creatures descend from yokai and nature spirits that the print already depicted. By placing Blastoise back in the sacred landscape from which it symbolically comes, Medsan makes visible a two-century lineage between Edo bestiary and that of video game consoles. The pilgrims who contemplate the waterfall are exactly in our position as spectators, facing a power that exceeds them.
A statement piece, ideal for adding a touch that is both japonaisant and pop to a collector’s interior devoted to the bridges between classical prints and video game culture.
Technical specifications:
Artist: Medsan
Reference: Pokémon / Blastoise / Ukiyo-e / Hokusai / Cascade / Aizuri-e
Dimensions: 40 x 60 cm
Edition: Unique Work — 1/1 (one-of-a-kind worldwide)
Year: 2026
Support: Giclée mounted on wooden frame (approx. 2 cm thick)
Signature: Yes, hand-signed
Condition: Excellent
Certificate: Certificate of authenticity (on request)
About the Atelier:
Atelier Joconde is a studio of artists gathered around a living, plural contemporary creation. Set up as a true production workshop, the studio operates both in collective creation and in individual approaches, depending on projects and works. Atelier Joconde is also a family venture. Le Yack, a contemporary figurative painter, develops a narrative and introspective body of work with cinematic and realistic influences. Beside him, Medsan, oriented toward pop art painting, explores color, modern iconography, and visual culture. Finally, Neo Pablo engages in a more instinctive inquiry, blending abstract art, brut art, and figurative abstraction. Each work is conceived, created, and followed within the studio, with a shared artistic standard and a distinct identity for each artist.
Keywords:
Medsan, Atelier Joconde, Le Yack, Pokémon, Blastoise, Ukiyo-e, Hokusai, Cascade, Japanese print, Vertical format, Contemporary, Unique work, 1/1
THERE IS ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD - EDITION 1/1
With this vertical-format work, Medsan places Blastoise, the final evolution of Squirtle in the first Pokémon generation, at the summit of a gorge straight out of a Japanese print. The composition openly cites the great tradition of ukiyo-e cascades, the famous Cascade series in the various provinces of Katsushika Hokusai and the Kirifuri Waterfall on Mount Kurokami in particular. The red cartouche at the top left displays 滝の亀, “the turtle of the waterfall,” as a true print title. The water monster is no longer a video game fighter: it becomes a tutelary deity of the landscape, the literal source of the torrent.
The handling respects the grammar of Japanese woodblock printing: regular black contour lines, flat color fields layered over each other, bokashi gradient in the sky, and a total absence of cast shadow. The palette remains faithful to aizuri-e, that Prussian blue that arrived in Japan in the 19th century, ranging from the nocturnal blue of the sky to the gray-green of the mosses, warmed by the browns of the shell and the cinnabar red of the cartouche and the artist’s seal at the bottom right. The froth is rendered by the characteristic looping swirls of Hokusai, while the paper grain and the wood fibers remain visible across the surface. The two dorsal fins extend the natural falls with perfect logic, and the three travelers wearing straw hats, tiny in the foreground, give a vertiginous sense of scale to the scene.
The mashup speaks to the rightful place of Pokémon in the Japanese imagination: these creatures descend from yokai and nature spirits that the print already depicted. By placing Blastoise back in the sacred landscape from which it symbolically comes, Medsan makes visible a two-century lineage between Edo bestiary and that of video game consoles. The pilgrims who contemplate the waterfall are exactly in our position as spectators, facing a power that exceeds them.
A statement piece, ideal for adding a touch that is both japonaisant and pop to a collector’s interior devoted to the bridges between classical prints and video game culture.
Technical specifications:
Artist: Medsan
Reference: Pokémon / Blastoise / Ukiyo-e / Hokusai / Cascade / Aizuri-e
Dimensions: 40 x 60 cm
Edition: Unique Work — 1/1 (one-of-a-kind worldwide)
Year: 2026
Support: Giclée mounted on wooden frame (approx. 2 cm thick)
Signature: Yes, hand-signed
Condition: Excellent
Certificate: Certificate of authenticity (on request)
About the Atelier:
Atelier Joconde is a studio of artists gathered around a living, plural contemporary creation. Set up as a true production workshop, the studio operates both in collective creation and in individual approaches, depending on projects and works. Atelier Joconde is also a family venture. Le Yack, a contemporary figurative painter, develops a narrative and introspective body of work with cinematic and realistic influences. Beside him, Medsan, oriented toward pop art painting, explores color, modern iconography, and visual culture. Finally, Neo Pablo engages in a more instinctive inquiry, blending abstract art, brut art, and figurative abstraction. Each work is conceived, created, and followed within the studio, with a shared artistic standard and a distinct identity for each artist.
Keywords:
Medsan, Atelier Joconde, Le Yack, Pokémon, Blastoise, Ukiyo-e, Hokusai, Cascade, Japanese print, Vertical format, Contemporary, Unique work, 1/1
