Sadao Abe: Mist and Ice in Kushiro

Artist: Sadao Abe 阿部貞夫 (1910-1969)
Title: Mist and Ice in Kushiro (Sapporo?)
Date: 1964

Bold oversized scene of a city bridge blanketed in ice and snow. Not a single pedestrian is in sight, leaving us alone with the modernist architecture. Sadao Abe spent his childhood in Hokkaido and moved back there after the war, living in Kushiro and Sapporo. He studied woodblock printing with Juni’ichiro Sekino. This view may be of Sapporo, as it has the feeling of a large city. The unique woodblock printing technique involves repeating tonal patterns. With a limited edition  number in the corner of 25/100. This artist’s prints are rarely found outside of Japan, and this seems to be one of his finest works.  Signed, titled and dated at bottom by the artist. There was a print exhibition in 2010 in Kushiro, celebrating 100 years since the artist’s birth

SKU: ABC010S