Blessing 1983

Toko Shinoda made this work, "Blessing", with ink, and maybe some watercolor, using both sumi techniques and modernist abstraction. There's a real sensitivity to the material here, in the way the ink bleeds and feathers on the paper. The composition is sparse, reduced to just a few bold strokes and shapes. I love the way she balances the stark black of that swooping diagonal with the soft, smoky grays elsewhere. It's a masterclass in contrast. Look closely at the top of the grey form – see those thin, spidery lines? That’s where the brush barely touched the paper, a ghost of a mark. For me it’s this combination of strength and fragility that really sings. It reminds me a little of Franz Kline, maybe, but with a lightness and grace that's all Shinoda's own. In art, as in life, things don't have to be one way or the other. There's always room for nuance, for a little bit of both.