Fan 1960

Kaoru Kawano made this print, called Fan, using woodblocks to build up the image through layers of colour and texture. The flat planes of colour sit together in a way that feels both modern and ancient, it's like looking at a digital image made with hand tools. I love the way the grain of the woodblock gives the background a sense of depth and movement, it makes me think of wind or water, and how this contrasts with the flatness of the girl's face and hair. The fan itself is a masterpiece of abstraction, the triangles and squares of colour suggesting form without being literal. It is as though Kawano is reminding us that the world is not made of perfect forms, but a collection of textures and colours that shift and change depending on how we look at them. There's something about this piece that reminds me of Matisse, the way he used colour and pattern to create a sense of depth and space. And, like Matisse, Kawano seems to be suggesting that art is not about representing the world, but about creating a new one.