Honderd ontwerpen Possibly 1910 - 1918

Ogino Issui created this untitled woodblock print, sometime around 1900-1910. I love the way the muted grays and tans create a dreamlike quality, a kind of quiet harmony that really speaks to the beauty of simplicity. Looking closely, you can see how the artist used delicate lines to define the shapes of the birds and the bamboo. The texture is so subtle, it's almost like a whisper on the paper, creating a sense of depth and space. Notice how the artist varied the pressure and speed of the tool, giving the marks a life of their own. It's in these details that you really see the hand of the artist, their touch, their presence. There's a real connection here to other Japanese printmakers like Hokusai, in the attention to detail, but with a more contemporary feel. These prints remind us that art is never really finished, it's just a series of conversations between artists, ideas, and materials across time.