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Hajime Namiki'Weeping Cherry' — Sosaku Hanga Contemporary Japanese Woodblock Print2012
2012
About the Item
Hajime Namiki, 'Weeping Cherry 16 A', color woodblock print, 2012, edition 200. Signed in pencil and with the artist’s red seal. Titled, dated, and numbered '2/200' in pencil. A superb, richly-inked impression, with fresh colors and metallic gold background, on off-white wove paper; the full sheet with margins (1 3/8 to 1 9/16 inches), in pristine condition. Printed by the artist. Archivally sleeved, unmatted.
Image size 11 13/16 x 9 inches (300 x 229 mm); sheet size 14 5/8 x 11 3/4 inches (371 x 298 mm).
ABOUT THIS WORK
In 'Weeping Cherry 16 A,' Hajime Namiki transforms the familiar Japanese subject of flowering cherry into a meditation on color, pattern, and light. Branches of the weeping cherry descend through the composition, carrying dense clusters of stylized leaves and blossoms in gradations of coral pink, pale peach, and deep burgundy.
Namiki brings the branches and foliage close to the picture plane and sets them against a shimmering metallic gold ground. The result is an image poised between natural observation and abstraction: individual leaves remain immediately recognizable, yet their repetition creates a rhythmic pattern that moves across the surface. The dark, vertically descending branch provides a strong compositional counterpoint to the more freely dispersed foliage.
Particularly effective is Namiki’s use of the gold ground, which changes in luminosity according to ambient light and the viewer’s position. The gold functions not simply as background but as light itself, appearing through and around the branches and giving the image an atmospheric, almost weightless quality.
Namiki’s early training as a sculptor is evident in the assured organization of the composition, while his carving and printing retain the directness central to the sōsaku hanga tradition. The combination of traditional woodblock technique, metallic surface, and simplified natural forms gives Weeping Cherry 16 A a distinctly contemporary character while maintaining a strong connection to the Japanese tradition of finding inspiration in the changing seasons.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Hajime Namiki (b. 1947) is a contemporary Japanese woodblock printmaker and sculptor known particularly for his luminous, highly refined images of trees and the natural world. Born in Tokyo’s Sumida Ward, Namiki began studying sculpture and woodcarving in 1965 under sculptor Ogura Shigeru. He joined the Japan Sculptors Association in 1974 and exhibited wood sculpture before turning to woodblock printmaking in 1978.
Working within the tradition of sōsaku hanga (creative prints), Namiki assumes direct responsibility for the creation of his prints, carving and printing his own woodblocks. His early training as a sculptor remains evident in the strong sense of form and physical presence that characterizes his imagery. While employing traditional Japanese woodblock techniques, he has developed an immediately recognizable contemporary vocabulary distinguished by richly saturated color and unusually luminous surfaces.
Namiki frequently prints on Torinoko paper prepared with gold or silver leaf, against which his trees, blossoms, birds, and landscapes acquire a radiant presence. He also uses oil-based pigments in place of the water-based colors more commonly associated with Japanese woodblock printing, producing a particular richness and depth of color. These technical choices are integral to his imagery: metallic grounds often function simultaneously as atmosphere, light, and pictorial space.
Trees have become Namiki’s signature subject. Individual trees and groups of trees are rendered in strong, elegant silhouettes while retaining the diversity and rhythms of natural growth, producing images that are both distinctly modern and deeply connected to the natural world.
Namiki began exhibiting his woodblock prints widely in Japan during the 1980s and has participated regularly in the CWAJ Contemporary Print Exhibition in Tokyo. During the 1990s, he was invited to Wisconsin on three occasions, where he lectured on woodblock printmaking and gave printing demonstrations in conjunction with Japan Festival programs; he also exhibited at the Kenosha Museum. A solo exhibition was held in San Francisco in 1999.
Namiki’s work is represented in public and institutional collections, including the Art Institute of Chicago, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, and the White House in Washington, D.C.
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