Sacred Grove 1941

Toshi Yoshida made 'Sacred Grove' which is bathed in blues, greens, and greys. Just imagining the artist carefully carving the woodblocks for each color is kind of meditative. I feel like I can see him there in the forest, totally absorbed, trying to capture its stillness. The whole scene hums with quiet energy. All these vertical tree trunks - they're so grounding, rising up into a canopy that almost feels like a cathedral. And then, nestled in the heart of it all, is this little structure, a meeting place. It reminds me a bit of other landscape prints by artists like Hiroshi Yoshida, Toshi’s father, though with a distinctive, personal touch. Yoshida, like many artists, seems to be speaking to a visual conversation that stretches way back. What is landscape anyway? What can it do? How can it make us feel? These are the questions artists keep answering, again and again.