Shu Takahashi Ball

Shu Takahashi was born in Hiroshima in 1930. In 1950, he moved to Tokyo, and in spite of mother's opposition to his artistic aspiration, entered Musashino Academy of Fine Arts. In 1956, he held his first solo exhibition. In 1987, Takahashi received the Education Minister’s Art Encouragement Prize, and in the following year, he was awarded the Japan Arts Grand Prix, which is given by Shinchosha in recognition of the year's best works of art. 

In Japan, together with other artists, Takahashi founded the Nouveau Group, a movement that would revolutionize the visual artistic language. Takahashi received the Dokuritsu Prize and his Way to the Moon was bought by the Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art, which awarded him the Yasui Prize for new artists. He became well-known in Italy, and since 1969, he has formed a stable relationship with the Galleria dell’Ariete in Milan. He took part in the Venice Biennale in 1976 and in the Rome Quadriennale in 1977. In 1996, Takahashi taught at the Kurashiki University of Sciences and Arts. Takahashi’s exhibitions include his retrospective at the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Rome (1993) and the 2003–2004 Spirit of Gold Exhibition at the Edoardo Chiossone Oriental Art Museum in Genoa. Takahashi has been living and working in Rome since 1963.

Explore a vast range of abstract prints on 1stDibs to find a piece to enhance your existing collection or transform a space.

Unlike figurative paintings and other figurative art, which focuses on realism and representational perspectives, abstract art concentrates on visual interpretation. An artist may use a single color or simple geometric forms to create a world of depth. Printmaking has a rich history of abstraction. Through materials like stone, metal, wood and wax, an image can be transferred from one surface to another.

During the 19th century, iconic artists, including Edvard Munch, Paul Cézanne, Georgiana Houghton and others, began exploring works based on shapes and colors. This was a departure from the academic conventions of European painting and would influence the rise of 20th-century abstraction and its pioneers, like Pablo Picasso and Piet Mondrian.

Some leaders of European abstraction, including Franz Kline, were influenced by the gestural shapes of East Asian calligraphy. Calligraphy interprets poetry, songs, symbols or other means of storytelling into art, from works on paper in Japan to elements of Islamic architecture.

Bold, daring and expressive, abstract art is constantly evolving and dazzling viewers. And entire genres have blossomed from it, such as Color Field painting and Minimalism.

The collection of abstract art prints on 1stDibs includes etchings, lithographs, screen-prints and other works, and you can find prints by artists such as Joan Miró, Alexander Calder and more.