Kumi Sugai - 蠍座 (Scorpion)

A fabulous print by Kumi Sugai: 蠍座 (Scorpion). The composition sets circular yellow forms within a black circle on pink quadrants - the geometric shapes arcing like the curved sting of a scorpion’s tail! Sugai transforms Zodiac imagery into pure graphic language, where signage, letterforms & geometry inspire his designs. A beautiful piece. ♏✨

• Year & Edition: 1973 · H.C. Edition (signed in pencil “Sugai”).
  
• Medium: Silkscreen on Kent paper. Printed & published by International Opus (Paris).
  
• Dimensions: Sheet H: 70.00 cm × W: 70.00 cm; Image H: 59.00 cm × W: 59.00 cm.
  
• Condition: A lovely piece given age. Paper clean, sharp, & intact. 
  
• Notes: From Sugai’s 2nd 星座シリーズ (Constellation / Zodiac) series - a further suite to his 1972 series where Sugai translates the twelve signs into striking geometric abstractions. These images are much larger however: 70cm x 70cm! Raisonné No: #215. (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]