Butterfly 1957

Tadashi Nakayama made this print called Butterfly in 1959, and I can imagine him patiently layering these colours onto the paper. The butterfly's wings are these big, mottled shapes in golds, yellows, and browns. They’re not precise, more like impressions of wings, and then all these tiny black shapes that look like smaller butterflies or even birds swirl around it. The overall effect is movement, as if the butterfly is emerging or dissolving right before your eyes. I love how the splatters of paint give the wings this rough, organic texture. You can almost feel the delicate powder on them. Look how the yellow streaks behind the butterfly add to this sense of flight. Nakayama's work often explores animals and nature, and he has such a distinctive style. It reminds me of how other artists, like Matisse with his cut-outs, found new ways to capture the essence of the natural world.