NEW YORK – Works by Ishiwata Koitsu and Ray Morimura will jockey for top-lot status at Jasper52’s next auction of Japanese Woodblock Prints, which will be held on Wednesday, December 28, starting at 8 pm Eastern time. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
Of course, they are not the only illustrious names represented in the lineup. Other lots in the December 28 sale include prints by Utagawa Kuniyoshi; Kunisada I, Utagawa; Kawase Hasui; Ito Yuhan; Yoshisuke Funasaka; and the Gekko Studio.
Ray Morimura, ‘Kanasawa Bunko Shomyoji Shrine,’ estimated at $800-$1,000
Other strong entries include Taguchi Yoshimori’s Picture of a Mounted Russian from 1861; a work titled Looking like a dangerous situation: The appearance of a contemporary geisha of the Meiji era, from Tsukioka Yoshitoshi’s celebrated series Thirty-two Aspects of Customs and Manners; Daimon Kinoshita’s Grand Champions, a 1985 image of sumo wrestlers grappling in the ring; Torii Kotondo’s Rouge, an image from his Twelve Aspects of Women series; and a group of compelling limited edition abstracts by Haku Maki that almost cross the line and become optical illusions.
Ishiwata Koitsu (1897-1987) designed fabrics for the Nozawaya department store in Yokohama before he shifted his focus to printmaking. He created Evening Glow at Choshi in 1932 for the respected Shin Hanga publisher Shozaburo Watanabe. The street scene depicts several figures striding away from the viewer as a blush orange sky yields to a richly purpled darkness. The Ishiwata Koitsu print carries an estimate of $600-$700.
Ray Morimura, ‘Portland Japanese Garden (Winter),’ estimated at $900-$1,100
Tokyo-born Ray Morimura (b. 1948-) cites Shigeru Hatsuyama and Sumio Kawakami as influences. He stands apart from his colleagues past and present by favoring oil-based inks. Selected as highlights in the December 28 auction are two Morimura prints created seven years apart: Kanasawa Bunko Shomyoji Shrine from 2010 and Portland Japanese Garden (Winter) from 2017. Both are woodblock prints, and both testify to the impressive range of his skills. They are estimated at $800-$1,000 and $900-$1,100, respectively.
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