Daitokuji, Kyoto 1957

Kiyoshi Saito’s print, "Daitokuji, Kyoto" pulls us into a world of quiet contemplation through muted tones of grey, brown, black and green. Imagine Saito carefully carving each line into the woodblock, thinking and feeling his way through the image, and the rhythms of the temple. Look at the way the black stems curve ever so slightly, giving them a sense of movement and life against the stark geometry of the paving stones. I love the way the slightly off-white of the stones contrasts with the grey grain of the wood. Saito has such a unique and incredible approach to modernist printmaking, and you see his unique sensibility in the work of contemporary artists today. He gives you only what you need to feel the scene. It’s like a perfectly constructed haiku: a few elements, precisely placed, that speak to the profound beauty of simplicity.