"Window by the Sea" - Yuki Rei

By Rei Yuki
Medium: Wood block print on paper
Page Size: 26 x 20 in.
Framed Size: 27.5 x 21.5 in.
Year: 1967
Signed and inscribed, bottom.
 
This mesmerizing woodblock print, is an exemplary specimen of mid-century Japanese abstraction that beautifully balances structured geometry with organic fluidity. The titular window appears as a sharp, minimalist rectangular frame on the which encloses a band of vivid, cerulean blue that instantly evokes a distant coastline or a slice of the ocean. Radiating outward from this structure is a dreamlike landscape rendered in sweeping, undulating lines and atmospheric speckles that mimic sea spray, clouds, or starlight. Rei’s exquisite mastery of the sosaku-hanga (creative print) style is evident in the delicate woodgrain texture running vertically throughout the paper, lending an organic warmth to the cool, muted palette of sage green, slate gray, cream, black, and blue. In the lower right foreground, a sharp series of converging diagonal stripes creates a dramatic sense of receding perspective, pulling the viewer’s eye through a stylized, evocative terrain, reminiscent of a coastal road, where nature and architectural abstraction seamlessly meld.
 
This woodblock print on paper is ready to hang in a vintage black lacquered frame with bamboo motif and gold leaf details.   Vintage "glare free" glass protects the art.