Ansei UCHIMA Exhibition
August 25 Tue. - September 5 Sat. 2015, 12:00-19:00 |
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Ansei UCHIMA (1921-2000), who was born in California to a family of immigrants from Okinawa, came to Japan on the recommendation of a relative just before the outbreak of the Pacific War. He enrolled at Waseda University (Tokyo) to study architecture. Calling the two countries of the United States and Japan his home, Uchima later ventured into a career as a print artist. Back in the U.S. after the end of the war, Uchima taught at universities and advanced traditional techniques derived from ukiyo-e printmaking into what he called “weaves of colors.” Uchima’s prints are full of a fresh and modern sensibility, contributing to their lasting appeal. Major collections in the United States are holding his works.
Woodblock prints are quite literally "pictures from the block." Sheet by sheet, they are handmade by applying each color from a separate block with a "baren" tool (rubbing pad). The simplicity and unpretentious appeal of the works, usually produced in small editions, often derives from the relatively limited number of colors. Some claim that the beauty of woodblock printing is lost when too many colors are employed. However, Uchima’s most representative series, "Forest Byobu," relies on the layering of up to 45 different color blocks. The vivid colors, delicate gradations and dense layering of these works exude a refined sense of harmony. They reflect a particularly Okinawan sense of color that Uchima probably inherited from his family background. Last year in September, the Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum held the retrospective "Ansei Uchima: A Symphony of Colors and Wind" which included Uchima’s prints from early works of 1955 to 1982, when he ceased to produced them, but also his ink paintings, watercolors, collages, pastel drawings, oil paintings and etchings. The current exhibition at Toki-no-Wasuremono presents about 30 color woodblock prints.
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■ Ansei UCHIMA (1921-2000)
Uchima was born 1921 in Stockton, California. In 1940, he went to Tokyo to study architecture at Waseda University. After the war, Uchima met the sosaku hanga artist Onchi Koshiro, and began to venture into abstract woodblock printing. He held his first solo exhibition at Yoseido Gallery (Tokyo) in 1955. In 1960, he relocated to New York, where he received twice a Guggenheim Fellowship for print artists (1962 and 1970). Uchima taught at Sarah Lawrence College, and held a position as an adjunct professor of printmaking at Columbia University. He died in 2000, aged 79.
Ansei UCHIMA Exhibition:
List of works / August 25 (Tue) - September 5 (Sat)
No. |
Image |
Title | Date |
Medium | Measurement |
Edition |
Sign |
1 |
 |
"Forest Weave (Bathers-two-cobalt)" | 1982 |
Oil on canvas | 91.5×66.0cm |
Signed |
|
2 |
 |
"Forest Weave (Bathers-two-cobalt)" | 1982 |
Woodblock print | Image size: 68.0×49.0cm Sheet size: 82.0×57.0cm |
Signed |
|
3 |
 |
"Hermit" | 1957 |
Woodblock print | Image size: 77.1×41.0cm Frame size: 96.3×58.4cm |
Signed |
|
4 |
 |
"Shifting Horizon" | 1960 |
Woodblock print | Image size: 31.7×24.0cm Sheet size: 53.0×38.0cm |
Ed.15 |
Signed |
5 |
 |
"Early Summer Rain" | 1961 |
Woodblock print | Image size: 50.5×38.cm Sheet size: 61.5×45.5cm |
Signed |
|
6 |
 |
"Spring Snow" | 1962 |
Woodblock print | Image size: 77.5×33.5cm Frame size: 93.6×49.8cm |
Signed |
|
7 |
 |
"Summer Stream" | 1962 |
Woodblock print | Image size: 38.0×51.0cm Sheet size: 44.6×57.2cm |
Ed.200 |
Signed |
9 |
 |
"Reflection in Rain" | 1965 |
Woodblock print | Image size: 46.0×41.0cm Sheet size: 49.5×44.0cm |
Signed |
|
10 |
 |
"CITY LIGHTS" | 1967 |
Woodblock print | Image size: 54.0×40.0cm Sheet size: 60.0×45.5cm |
Signed |
|
11 |
 |
"PASTORAL POEM" | 1967 |
Woodblock print | Image size: 39.3×18.1cm Sheet size: 44.8×30.6cm |
Signed |
|
12 |
 |
"Ruins B" | 1967 |
Woodblock print | Image size: 17.6×55.6cm Sheet size: 22.6×60.1cm |
Ed.30 |
Signed |
13 |
 |
"SHORT POEM" | 1967 |
Woodblock print | Image size: 55.6×17.6cm Sheet size: 60.7×22.8cm |
Signed |
|
14 |
 |
"SHORT POEM Black & Red" | 1967 |
Woodblock print | Image size: 31.7×24.0cm Sheet size: 44.6×31.1cm |
Signed |
|
15 |
 |
"Time, Space-Horizontal B" | 1969 |
Woodblock print | Image size: 35.5×75.8cm Frame size: 55.5×95.5cm |
Ed.30 |
Signed |
16 |
 |
"In Space Pink" | 1969 |
Woodblock print | Image size: 76.0×50.5cm Sheet size: 84.0×57.0cm |
Signed |
|
17 |
 |
"Space Landscape (C)" | 1970-75 |
Woodblock print | Image size: 76.0×51.5cm Sheet size: 79.5×58.5cm |
Signed |
|
18 |
 |
"TWO SPHERES IN SPACE" | 1971-73 |
Woodblock print | Image size: 76.0×52.0cm Sheet size: 86.6×59.9cm |
Ed.30 |
Signed |
19 |
 |
"I-V Space Tranquility" | 1972 |
Woodblock print | Image size: 70.6×53.1cm Sheet size: 82.4×61.4cm |
Signed |
|
20 |
 |
"Space Gesture" | 1972-76 |
Woodblock print | Image size: 73.5×53.0cm Sheet size: 78.5×58.0cm |
Ed.30 |
Signed |
21 |
 |
"Aretic Landscape" | 1973-76 |
Woodblock print | Image size: 76.0×53.4cm Sheet size: 83.7×61.3cm |
Ed.30 |
Signed |
22 |
 |
"IN BLUE (DAI)" | 1975 |
Woodblock print | Image size: 47.7×73.6cm Sheet size: 57.0×78.8cm |
Ed.30 |
Signed |
23 |
 |
"Forest Byobu (Autumn)" |
1979 |
Woodblock print | Image size: 45.5×76.0cm
Sheet size: 55.0×88.0cm |
Signed |
|
24 |
 |
"FOREST BYOBU (FRAGRANCE)" | 1981 |
Woodblock print | Image size: 76.0×44.0cm Sheet size: 83.6×51.0cm |
Ed.120 |
Signed |
25 |
 |
"FOREST BYOBU (TWILIGHT WEAVE) A" | 1981 |
Woodblock print | Image size: 59.5×52.7cm Sheet size: 71.0×60.3cm |
Signed |
|
26 |
 |
"FOREST WEAVE (Bathers-Fall)" | 1982 |
Woodblock print | Image size: 75.8×41.0cm Sheet size: 86.5×50.0cm |
Signed |
|
27 |
 |
"Forest Byobu with Bouquet" *Included in "Hanga Shouhi Vol.4" Ver.A |
Woodblock made in 1979 (Printed in 2001) |
Woodblock print | Image size: 19.7×26.5cm Sheet size: 24.0×31.4cm |
Ed.35 (Initial edition of 10 were printed by the artist) |
Signed |
28 |
 |
"Rose One (B)" *Included in "Hanga Shouhi Vol.4" Ver.A/B |
Woodblock made in 1982 (Printed in 2001) |
Etching | Image size: 11.7×9.0cm Sheet size: 32.0×25.6cm |
Ed.135 (Initial edition of 10 were printed by the artist) |
Signed |
29 |
 |
"Forest Byobu (steps)" | 1980 |
Etching | Image size: 14.3×9.3cm Sheet size: 28.4×25.0cm |
Signed |
|
30 |
 |
"Shrub Oak (steps) B (Black)" | 1981 |
Etching | Image size: 14.5×11.8cm Sheet size: 28.3×22.8cm |
Signed |
|
31 |
 |
"Shrub Oak (steps) B (Green)" | 1981 |
Etching | Image size: 14.4×12.0cm Sheet size: 28.3×23.0cm |
Signed |
|
32 |
 |
"Two Roses" | 1982 |
リEtching | Image size: 14.0×11.0cm Sheet size: 28.3×23.0cm |
Signed |
|
33 |
 |
"Self Portrait with flower (A)" | 1982 |
Etching | Image size: 12.6×9.0cm Sheet size: 28.9×27.8cm |
Signed |
|
34 |
 |
"Self Portrait (D)" | 1982 |
Etching | Image size: 7.6×8.0cm Sheet size: 28.4×28.8cm |
Signed |
|
35 |
 |
"Self Portrait (E)" | 1982 |
Etching | Image size: 7.5×8.5cm Sheet size: 28.7×28.2cm |
Signed |
Gallery view
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