Hatō zu 1

Uehara Konen
$85.00
Size

Add Custom Frame

Frames ship to U.S. addresses only. Framed prints ship in 2–4 weeks and are final sale. Full framing details

Add Custom Frame

Frames ship to U.S. addresses only. Framed prints ship in 2–4 weeks and are final sale. Full framing details

Add Custom Frame

Frames ship to U.S. addresses only. Framed prints ship in 2–4 weeks and are final sale. Full framing details
Artist Statement

Uehara Konen's Hatō zu 1, meaning "wave" in Japanese, was created by Uehara Konen in 1910, in the midst of the Meiji Period, a moment of great change for Japanese culture and art. For the first time in centuries, Japan had opened its borders; American and European artists set sail to study the great masters of the Japanese Woodblock Printing tradition.

Waves as a subject in Japanese art, especially woodblocks, can be traced as far back as the 1600's and the beginning of the Edo period. Yet in Hatō zu 1 we see the emergence of a modern style and new western influences, despite Uehara Konen's resistance to many of the changes around him.

The bright, saturated blues have an impressionistic styling, but also we see technology subtly taking hold in the almost photographic composition that elegantly breaks from tradition.

Details

+ Limited-edition, exclusive to 20x200
+ Museum quality: archival inks, 100% cotton rag paper unless noted
+ Handcrafted custom-framing is available

Our quoted dimensions are for the size of paper containing the images, not the printed image itself. We do not alter the aspect ratio, nor do we crop or resize the artists’ originals. All of our prints have a minimum border of .5 inches to allow for framing.

Medium

Museo PR

Edition Structure:
11"x14" | edition of 500
16"x20" | edition of 50
24"x30" | edition of 25
Artist - Uehara Konen

Uehara Konen

Uehara Konen was born in 1878 in Asakusa, Tokyo, just as Japan was transforming from an isolated feudal society to the modern, Westernized Japan that we know today. The Meiji Era, as this period is known, ultimately caused a steady disappearance of the woodblock print. Konen continued to create woodblocks despite the rapid changes around him, albeit in the mōrō-tai (modernist style) popular from 1899 to 1909. Part of the “Sumida River School” (Blue River School), Konen was inspired by Western styles of painting, and you can see the influence in the colors, photographic perspective, and experimental nature of his work.

In 1907, Konen became the secretary of the Kokuga Gyokuseikai (National Painting Cultivation Society), which supported a modern school of painting in Japan. Konen also served in the Imperial Household, the Foreign Ministry, and as a juror for the Tokyo Metropolitan. He died on May 24th, 1940 in Tokyo.