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Lot Essay
"For Yuichi Inoue, every Chinese character ('Kanji') contained infinite meaning and deserved to be calligraphed with the utmost vigour of one's life. As early as in the 1950s, Inoue's work came to international spotlight as it was exhibited alongside the work of Abstract Expressionist masters like Jackson Pollock. However, he never turned away from the dedication to 'Kanji' as the origin of the art in Japanese calligraphy, and it led him to voyage into pure abstraction. He believed "words are spiritual beings that can move the earthly and supernatural realms". It was reflected in his quest to restore traditional calligraphy to its purest simplicity rather than an emphasis on dazzling techniques. He depicted single Chinese characters in larger-than-life strokes, bringing calligraphy back to the most primitive and pure act of writing.
'Flower' carried special significance for Yuichi Inoue. In 1945, the primary school where Inoue worked as a teacher was hit during the U.S. air raids. Inoue miraculously survived the attack and woke up after being unconscious for half a day. In his unconscious state, he had a vision of delicate flowers falling. From then on, the artist embraced a lifelong passion for writing the character for 'flower' in different expressions, and he even named his eldest daughter Hana 'Flower'. In 1971, he published the collection Hana no shocho (Album of Works with the Character Hana). Hana (Flower) (Lot 515) was executed in 1967, the thick, grey black ink runs and turns on the paper. Every stroke evokes ripple-like textures, while the wave-like ink dots illuminate the sense of movement and strength that flowed through Inoue's act of art-making. One can imagine the incredible passion with which he calligraphed Hana (Flower), as if it was a pilgrimage to life.
'Flower' carried special significance for Yuichi Inoue. In 1945, the primary school where Inoue worked as a teacher was hit during the U.S. air raids. Inoue miraculously survived the attack and woke up after being unconscious for half a day. In his unconscious state, he had a vision of delicate flowers falling. From then on, the artist embraced a lifelong passion for writing the character for 'flower' in different expressions, and he even named his eldest daughter Hana 'Flower'. In 1971, he published the collection Hana no shocho (Album of Works with the Character Hana). Hana (Flower) (Lot 515) was executed in 1967, the thick, grey black ink runs and turns on the paper. Every stroke evokes ripple-like textures, while the wave-like ink dots illuminate the sense of movement and strength that flowed through Inoue's act of art-making. One can imagine the incredible passion with which he calligraphed Hana (Flower), as if it was a pilgrimage to life.