(Flowers in Vase - 9)

Kenji Ushiku

Kenji Ushiku’s early career was steeped in non-objective abstraction and experimental intaglio printmaking. However, by the 1960s and with the influence of mid-century Modernism he had moved into delicate, intimate images of plant life, animals, and interiors, in a style that borrowed from both the ancient Greek and Roman visual arts as well as traditional Japanese folk art.

He was especially known for the minute detail that connected the viewer to an object’s familiarity; in this case, the painted details of the vase, the many buds drawn individually on the plate, the patterned tablecloth, and the inclusion of a bird at the center of the vase’s decor - birds and waterfowl being common themes in his work.