965 1987

Funasaka Yoshisuke, born in Kyoto in 1939, created this print titled 965 using lithography, a process that allows for complex layering of colors and textures. Yoshisuke’s work emerged from a post-war Japan grappling with its cultural identity amidst rapid modernization and western influence. In this print, a bold blue rectangle dominates the composition, challenging traditional Japanese aesthetics that often emphasize subtlety and naturalism. The vibrant, almost playful, color palette and fragmented forms around the central blue suggest a sense of deconstruction and reassembly, mirroring the socio-political landscape of Japan at the time. Yoshisuke’s approach to abstraction can be seen as a departure from established norms, embracing new modes of expression while subtly referencing traditional Japanese art forms through the careful arrangement and balance of shapes. The tension between the solid blue and the fragmented colored marks evokes a feeling of dissonance, perhaps reflecting the artist’s exploration of identity in a rapidly changing world.