Inside-Outside IV
Artist
Nakazawa Shin'ichi
(Japanese, born 1956)
Date20th century
Mediumetching with gold leaf
Dimensionssheet: 53.9 x 59.7 cm (21 1/4 x 23 1/2 in.)
image: 39.4 x 39.3 cm (15 1/2 x 15 1/2 in.)
image: 39.4 x 39.3 cm (15 1/2 x 15 1/2 in.)
ClassificationsPrints
MarkingsSeal: Shin
Credit LineHarriet B. Bancroft Fund
Object number2003.3
Label Text2004-08-06: NAKAZAWA, Shin'ichi (b. 1956)
Inside-Outside IV
Undated
Ed. 27/30
Signed in pencil N. Shin'ichi; sealed Shin
Etching with gold leaf
Harriet B. Bancroft Fund, 2003.3
The avant-garde artist Nakazawa Shin'ichi taught himself to make etchings in 1975 and, in 1979 he graduated from Rikkyo University in Tokyo. The reclusive Nakazawa lives with many cats in a rustic farmhouse with a rambling garden and pond, near forest and mountains, located two hours outside Tokyo.
Nakazawa works are sophisticated, original interpretations of classical elegance. Inspired by the decorative screens and calligraphy of famous early 17th century Rinpa-school masters such as Tawaraya Sotatsu and Hon'ami Koetsu, Nakazawa produces abstract prints which combine hand-applied silver, gold and/or platinum leaf with lively graffiti-style script, vaguely reminiscent of the hiragana syllabary.
This etching, entitled "Inside-Outside IV" is subtly reminiscent of shoji, the sliding doors made of a wooden grid-work covered with Japanese paper that separate the inside and outside of traditional Japanese homes. Compositionally it exemplifies Nakazawa's philosophy to create order and balance within limited spaces.ProvenanceThe Tolman Collection, New York, NYOn View
Not on view
