Satomi Kusaka (1935 - ) Virgin Tomb
A woodblock print from the Manyo series, numbered 5/75, dated 1985, titled and signed by the artist along the lower margin, framed and glazed.
64cm x 48cm, total 69 cm x 55cm
Satomi Kusaka is a mysterious artist. When I first heard this feminine name I thought they were a woman! Born in Tsuyama, Okayama Prefecture, he studied alongside other important Sôsaku Hanga artists. He participated in group exhibitions and since 1955 also held solo shows.
Googling his name I mainly came across some very bland, vanilla landscapes, but search deeper and you will find detailed prints populated by nymphs and goddesses morphing into trees and melting into the surrounding nature. All wonderfully detailed and thematically stemming from Japanese and Western mythology. An occasional skull can be found as an Easter egg in the background, just like in the current work, reminding us of the impending death, organically ending every form of life, just as much a part of it as freshness and youth of the young goddesses.
Satomi Kusaka (1935 - ) Virgin Tomb
A woodblock print from the Manyo series, numbered 5/75, dated 1985, titled and signed by the artist along the lower margin, framed and glazed.
64cm x 48cm, total 69 cm x 55cm
Satomi Kusaka is a mysterious artist. When I first heard this feminine name I thought they were a woman! Born in Tsuyama, Okayama Prefecture, he studied alongside other important Sôsaku Hanga artists. He participated in group exhibitions and since 1955 also held solo shows.
Googling his name I mainly came across some very bland, vanilla landscapes, but search deeper and you will find detailed prints populated by nymphs and goddesses morphing into trees and melting into the surrounding nature. All wonderfully detailed and thematically stemming from Japanese and Western mythology. An occasional skull can be found as an Easter egg in the background, just like in the current work, reminding us of the impending death, organically ending every form of life, just as much a part of it as freshness and youth of the young goddesses.
