Maki Haku (1924-2000)

'Remembrance-E'

This woodblock color relief print, on finely crafted mulberry paper, depicts an abstract image dominated with a black ground and abstract symbols like Kanji characters in white/light brown, accenting its presentation handsomely. This limited edition print by Maki is sealed and signed, numbered #41/100, a first edition, c1962. It is entitled 'Remembrence-E' by Maki Haku in his hand. The sight size is 11.5" x 17", under its black mat. It is framed in a black wood frame measuring 15" x 20". It is in excellent condition, in acid-free environs.

P30015  $695.00

MAKI, HAKU (1924 - 2000 )

Haku Maki was an abstract woodblock printmaker active during the second half of the 20th century. Born in Asomachi, Ibaraki prefecture as Tadaaki Maejima, he served in WWII before becoming a high school teacher in 1950. Around this time he began to produce his mixed media-prints.

Maki became a member of the Japan Print Association in 1958 and exhibited his prints at the annual College Women's Association of Japan print show from 1970 forward. Maki's creativity began with his printing process of carving a woodblock, he would then add cement around the carved areas. Once the cement had dried, he would carve over his original lines. This process produced the deep embossing so characteristic of his works. In terms of subject matter, Maki explored abstracted Kanji characters, though he branched out to depictions of ceramics and persimmons later in life. After 1960, he began to add spots of color to his compositions.

In the series Remembrance, Maki explored the line between legibility and illegibility. The forms are reminiscent of Japanese cursive script (kuzushiji), which often features connected, simplified characters derived from Chinese characters (kanji). Maki retained the distinct strokes and fluid lines common in Japanese and Chinese writing, but he combined them nonsensically, creating a language that appears legible but is not. In the series, Maki used paper embedded with thin strips of fiber, which appear through the dark, printed areas.

A master of modern Japanese abstract printmaking, Haku Maki's work can be found in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art New York, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the British Museum.