Ontwerpen van Keika 1905

This is a cover of ‘Ontwerpen van Keika’ by Hasagawa Keika, at the Rijksmuseum. I like to imagine the cover as a garden, where, against the background of very pale celadon, delicate leaves reach in every direction, enfolding scattered white chrysanthemum blooms. The light palette, with a touch of black calligraphy, whispers, it doesn’t shout. I wonder what Hasagawa Keika was thinking when arranging the flowers and leaves, letting them spread with apparent ease. It’s almost as if they are dancing, or performing, as the white paint skips lightly across the surface of the paper. The surface is so smooth and uninflected, and this stillness invites you to get up close and peer into its depths. The cover feels like a conversation, a meeting of minds and hands across time. It makes me want to go back to the studio!