Akira Kurosaki - 虹の軌跡 (Traces of the Rainbow)

Modern | Sōsaku Hanga Woodblock Print

A fabulous print by Akira Kurosaki: 虹の軌跡 (Traces of the Rainbow). Repeating triangular forms rise through the composition in three bands, each built from deep tonal gradients and crossed by pale, flowing streaks that sweep diagonally across the image. The restrained palette of black, charcoal and silver-grey gives the work an almost spectral quality, making the title Traces of the Rainbow all the more intriguing. The repetition creates a strong rhythm across the sheet, while the drifting white forms soften the geometry and give the image a real sense of movement. A major large-scale work from Kurosaki’s early-1980s Traces series.🌈◼️

• Year & Edition: 1982 · Ed. of 50 (26/50) (signed & titled in pencil to plate).
• Medium: Woodblock. 9 blocks, 5 colours. Printed on Echizen Torinoko paper.
• Dimensions: Sheet approx H: 97.00 cm × W: 66.50 cm (Image H: 79.00 cm × W: 54.75 cm).
• Condition: Image clean, crisp, & unblemished. Surface handling to margin.
• Notes: Trace of the Rainbow belongs to Kurosaki’s important Traces series of 1981-82. An impression is held by the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto. The work is also recorded in Japanese sources in connection with Kurosaki’s 1983 Contemporary Masters / World Print Award. Raisonné No. 316, (W300). 黒崎彰の全仕事 (The Complete Works of Akira Kurosaki: Catalogue Raisonné 1965-2006).

About the Artist

Akira Kurosaki (1937-2019) was a pioneering mokuhanga artist who fused traditional Japanese woodblock techniques with bold abstraction and surreal landscapes, rendered in his signature deep reds, purples and blacks. A graduate of the Kyoto Institute of Technology and devoted to the sōsaku hanga ethos - overseeing every stage of production himself - he earned the Florence Biennale Gold Prize and Japan’s Order of the Sacred Treasure. From 1987 he taught and led the Printmaking Department at Kyoto Seika University, mentoring a generation of printmakers; his work is held by the British Museum, MoMA and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. [ ← View All Works by Akira Kurosaki]