On View
Not on viewObject number2014.13
Forbidden Lovers
Artist
Akira Kurosaki
(Japanese, b. China, 1937-)
Date1976
Mediumcolor woodcut
Dimensionsimage: 13 3/8 × 10 3/8 in. (34 × 26.4 cm)
sheet: 19 × 13 1/4 in. (48.3 × 33.7 cm)
mat: 20 × 16 in. (50.8 × 40.6 cm)
sheet: 19 × 13 1/4 in. (48.3 × 33.7 cm)
mat: 20 × 16 in. (50.8 × 40.6 cm)
Credit LineGift of Charles L. Stroh
Exhibition History"Sosaku Hanga: Creative Printmaking in Japan," Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Joy Light Gallery of Asian Art (June 12 - September 5, 2021)
"Surrealish: The Absurd and Unexpected," KIA Galleries 2 & 5 (June 4 - September 11, 2022)Label Text"In the 1960s and ‘70s, Akira Kurosaki employed traditional Japanese woodblock print techniques to produce surreal abstractions that utilize Western styles of painting. Dramatic shading defines three-dimensional, geometric forms in compositions that seem vaguely theatrical. Kurosaki uses chiaroscuro effects (contrasting light and shadow), along with a wide range of colors, which distances his work from traditional Japanese styles and subjects. Forbidden Lovers is representative of Kurosaki’s work, with its bold, saturated colors and abstract imagery that creates surreal scenes like these fragmented bodies. Kurosaki's exploration of abstract and surreal imagery began shortly after World War II. Like the Surrealists of the 1920s, who reacted to the First World War, Kurosaki explores the psychology of the world after World War II through his abstract works." [from the exhibition Surrealish: The Absurd and Unexpected, 2022]
