Zen-kalligrafie 1888 - 1968

Ōishi Junkyō made this Zen calligraphy scroll sometime before 1968, using ink on paper. You know, the strokes aren't just marks, they're like a record of a dance, the artist’s hand moving in time with their breath. Notice how the gilded characters shimmer against the dark ground, each one a little world of intention and accident. There’s a beautiful tension between control and chance here. The brushstrokes have this incredible energy, a kind of raw immediacy, but they also speak to years of practice, of mastering the form. It reminds me of Cy Twombly, the way he let the gesture lead, embracing the beauty of the imperfect line. It makes you think about how art can be a conversation across time and cultures. It's a reminder that, in art, ambiguity is a feature, not a bug.