Kumi Sugai - ゲスト IV (Guest IV)

A fabulous print by Kumi Sugai: ゲスト IV (Guest IV), 1980 - bold geometric forms in red, yellow, and green arranged in a totemic composition of circles and squares. A tremendous example of Sugai’s hard-edge abstraction & road culture/traffic code iconography. A spectacular, large, graphic, & modern interior piece. 🟥🟡🟢

• Year & Edition: 1980 · Ed. 46/150 (signed & editioned “Sugai” in pencil).
  
• Medium: Silkscreen on Kent paper. Embossed publisher’s stamp to margin; printed by Ryoichi Ishida, Tokyo; published by Gendai Hanga Center, Tokyo.
  
• Dimensions: Sheet H: 60.00 cm × W: 46.50 cm.
  
• Condition: Near mint; excellent condition with crisp edges.
  
• Notes: ゲスト IV (Guest IV) is a strong example of Sugai’s late-career graphic language, where simplified colour blocks and geometric contrasts echo his earlier explorations of road signs and typography. ゲスト IV (Guest IV) - Raisonné No: #301. (Reference: Katsuo Hara (Art Dune) | Sugaï. Catalogue raisonné de l'œuvre gravé 1955-96 | 1996).

About the Artist

Kumi Sugai (1919-1996) crafted a bold, graphic print language fusing Japanese calligraphy, Western letterforms, and modern geometric abstraction. A former Hankyu Railway designer, in the 1960's, alongside his paintings, he developed his printmaking - hard-edge compositions evoking road culture and traffic codes: arrows, chevrons, numerals, and directional symbols - motifs iconic to his work from the mid-1960's onward. He won the Grand Prix at the 1966 Kraków International Print Biennial and was appointed a Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur in 1971; his works are held by the National Museum of Modern Art (Tokyo & Kyoto), the Centre Pompidou, the British Museum, and the Guggenheim. [ ← View All Works by Kumi Sugai]