Ay-O - Rainbow XX

Modern | Sōsaku Hanga Silkscreen Print

Two rainbow-striped, Martian–jellyfish hybrids stand side by side, their elongated tentacles intertwined against a background of horizontal spectrum bands - from rich reds at the top to deep blues at the bottom. This 1975 print reflects Ay-O’s childhood fascination with space creatures and jellyfish, evolving his beloved Mr. & Mrs. Rainbow characters into cosmic beings. 🛸🐙

• Year & Edition: 1975 · Ed. of 100 (20/100) (editioned, signed & dated in pencil; “Printed by K. Sukeda” noted in pencil on verso).
• Medium: Silkscreen.
• Dimensions: Sheet W: 56.00 cm × H: 75.50 cm.
• Condition: Fair; presents beautifully despite age-related ink mottling/paling; paper crisp & intact.
• Notes: Part of a nostalgic series that began with “Well, Well, Well” (Raisonné No. 274, 1974) and continued with “Rainbow X (R–V)” & “(V–R)” (Nos. 280 & 281) in 1975. Ay-O may have exhibited these designs earlier at a “One Man Show” at Fukuoka City Art Museum (Feb. 11-20, 1972) [plate 48], per 虹のかなたに―靉嘔AY-O回顧 (Over the Rainbow: Ay-O Retrospective 1960–2006). Listed as Raisonné No. 279 in 虹―靉嘔版画全作品集 1954-1979 (Rainbow Rainbow: Ay-O’s Rainbow Prints Catalogue Raisonné 1954–1979).

About the Artist

Ay-O (born 1931) is a seminal figure in postwar Japanese avant-garde art, celebrated for his immersive “Rainbow” series of vibrant paintings, silkscreens and installations. Early influences included the Demokrato Artist Association and the Society for Creative Art Education, which fostered his experimental spirit. In the 1960s he joined George Maciunas’s Fluxus movement, collaborating with Yoko Ono, Nam June Paik and Claes Oldenburg on boundary-pushing performances. Ay-O’s playful, multi-sensory use of gradated colour has earned him international acclaim, with major exhibitions at the National Museum of Asian Art (Washington, D.C.) and Kunsthal Aarhus, and works held in the British Museum, MoMA (New York) and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. [ ← View All Works by Ay-O]