Ricefield in Suizu 1951

Toshi Yoshida made "Ricefield in Suizu" using woodblock printing, a technique that's all about layering and process. Yoshida is really working with the grain of the wood to create a dreamy, almost blurry version of a landscape. You can see how he lets the material do some of the talking. The colors, soft blues and greens, bleed into each other, making the mountains in the distance seem to fade away. The rice paddies are little geometric puzzles, each one slightly different, reflecting the sky like tiny mirrors. There's this one dark green tree smack-dab in the middle, it’s like a full stop in the middle of a long sentence, anchoring the whole scene. He’s got a bit of Hiroshige in him, playing with perspective. But, where Hiroshige might go for drama, Yoshida is all about quiet observation. In the end, it's not about the exact location, but how the process of seeing, feeling, and making can come together.