Division-Work No. 100

Although mezzotint is primarily a European technique, Hamanishi’s work is traditionally Japanese in many respects. The use of gold, which emphasizes the flatness of the scene and adds a wonderful decorative element, began in Japanese printmaking in the late 17th century. One hundred years earlier, gold paper served as a background for folding screens (see examples in gallery 121), also referenced in the tripartite arrangement of Division-Work No. 100.

A vertically oriented mezzotint and gold leaf print depicts a dense field of detailed rice stalks swaying against dark, rolling mountain silhouettes and a textured gray sky. A large, horizontal shape of shimmering gold leaf with rounded extensions overlays the center like a solid cloud, its metallic texture contrasting with the fine, monochromatic lines of the grain. A signature and date are inscribed in the lower white margin.

Division-Work No. 100

2002

Hamanishi Katsunori

(Japanese, b. 1949)

Japan

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