Kumi Sugai - S 赤い矢 (S Flèches Rouges)

A fabulous print by Kumi Sugai: S 赤い矢 (S Flèches Rouges). Red arrows rush along a electric yellow band that curves into an “S”, edged with blue hatched lines. Sugai’s late vocabulary of speed, symbols, and letterforms distilled into a crisp, kinetic, & collectable design. A wonderful graphic piece for a modern interior. ➰🔴➡️

• Year & Edition: 1990 · H.C. 5/20 (signed in pencil “Sugai”). 
  
• Medium: Lithograph on Arches paper. Printed & published by Ediciones Polígrafa, Barcelona.
  
• Dimensions: Sheet H: 76.00 cm × W: 56.00 cm.
  
• Condition: A beautiful clean & crisp piece. Unblemished.
  
• Notes:  Part of Sugai’s late S works, where the letter’s curve becomes a route for directional arrows - tieing geometry, calligraphy, typography, & road codes. S 青い矢 (S Flèches Bleues) - Raisonné No: #341. (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]