Cat series "Blackbeard (Kurohige くろひげ)" - Large Work - Limited 23/160 - Akiyama Iwao 秋山巌 (1921-2014) - Japan

A scene of a cat sitting and looking back. Very unique and impressive print.

Artist: Iwao Akiyama (1921-2014) 秋山 巌
Titled: "Blackbeard (Kurohige くろひげ)"
Technique: Woodblock print
Limited edition 23/160, in 2002
Pencil hand signed, dated and numbered with red Artist’s seal.

Condition: Very good
Beautiful handmade slightly wavy Japanese Washi paper with small pieces of tree bark, as usual with Akiyama prints.

Dimensions:
Paper size 454 x 299 mm

Iwao AKIYAMA 秋山巌 (1921-2014)
Akiyama was a very famous and unique Japanese woodblock printmaker and artist known for distinctive prints of owls, cats, and other animals in the style of naive or folk art.
He studied Buddhism and folklore extensively on his own, and incorporated that knowledge into the themes of his woodblock prints. His works possess a unique worldview that evokes Buddhist compassion and spirituality.
Akiyama's prints are primarily made in black ink, and early ones contained a single red dot within the image, although later works sometimes feature more colors. In his prints, Akiyama limited himself to few subjects: animals, nude female figures, Akiyama's work often incorporated verses of haiku and other text by Japanese poets like Ryōkan Taigu, Kobayashi Issa, and Zen monk Santōka Taneda, as well as from his own original poetry.
Since his passing, his very unique works have become increasingly rare.

Collections: Brirish Museum; Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art, Israel; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne etc..


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