Kumi Sugai - '93年3月 (Mars '93)

A fabulous print by Kumi Sugai: ‘93年3月 (Mars ’93). A beautufully embossed “X” & winding “S” are etched with hand-drawn chequerboard grids, their outlines emphasised in black & red. A spectacular example of Sugai's vocabulary of pattern, symbols, and letterforms distilled into a crisp, & collectable design. A wonderful graphic piece for a modern interior.  ❌➰🟥

• Year & Edition: 1993 · Edition 1/80 (signed & editioned in pencil “Sugai”). 
  
• Medium: Etching on embossed Arches paper. Printed at L’atelier Dutrou, Paris; published by Robert et Lydie Dutrou Éditeurs.
  
• Dimensions: Sheet H: 78.50 cm × W: 57.50 cm.
  
• Condition: Near mint; small pinholes top and bottom, faint spot centre right cross.
  
• Notes: A striking piece combining embossed "S" and "X" forms with dense graphic patterning. Raisonné No: #374. (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]