Japanese Woodblock Print, 1975, 1st Ed, pencil signed in the image; titled dated and numbered 25/120 in the bottom margin

SIZE IN INCHES: 12 x 18.5 inches

COMMENTS:

TORU MABUCHI (1920-1994) was born in Tokyo in 1920. He first studied woodblock printmaking under his father, artist and pioneer of modern woodcutting and airbrush techniques, Rokutaro Mabuchi, before entering the Tokyo University of Fine Arts. There he studied under sosaku-hanga artist Unichi Hiratsuka. He graduated in 1941, just as Japan entered World War II.

Mabuchi became known for the unique style he developed after the war, often using a mosaic-like pattern that was nearly Pointillist in nature, with the use of small, thin squares of wood glued to the block. Every color wood need its own "tiled" block, thereby making the process more laborious and his editions small.

Lawrence Smith writing in Modern Japanese Prints 1912-1989 in 1995 stated, “Mabuchi’s unusual technique produces a surface of great richness suitable to still-life subjects…” and James Michener writing in The Modern Japanese Print - An Appreciation in 1968 noted that Mabuchi “has developed the most distinct technique used by any of the moderns. His prints are big, more expensive than others, and artistically rewarding."

Mabuchi exhibited at the 1962 Tokyo International Print Biennale, and he taught at Hiroshima University. His work is held by Boston Museum of Fine Arts, British Museum, Carnegie Museum of Art, Cincinnati Art Museum; New York Museum of Modern Art; Art Institute of Chicago; Portland Art Museum, The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto and the Yokohama Museum of Art, among others.

VG, minor flaws as shown