Folding Screen The Bamboo River c. 1915 - 1940

Ogyu Tensen made this folding screen, The Bamboo River, using ink and colour on paper to create something that feels both decorative and deeply evocative. It is the mark making and colour palette, that I find so striking in this work. The surface of the screen shimmers with delicate textures, with the thin washes of colour creating a sense of depth and atmosphere. You can almost feel the gentle breeze rustling through the bamboo and the scent of cherry blossoms in the air. The artist’s touch is visible in every brushstroke, from the precise lines of the bamboo stalks to the soft, blurred edges of the figures' robes. Look at how they contrast the straight lines of the bamboo with the looser, more gestural strokes of the cherry blossoms, and how that one dark sweep of hair in the foreground anchors the whole composition. It reminds me a bit of some of the work by Édouard Vuillard, who also had this knack for capturing the quiet beauty of everyday life. But really, art is an ongoing conversation, where artists borrow and build upon each other's ideas, creating new and unexpected meanings along the way.