Paperback, full colour images, 100 pages, W210 x H260mm
This exhibition, curated by renowned British artist Julian Opie,
consisted of woodblock prints by 19th century Japanese artist Utagawa
Hiroshige. An intervention in Ikon’s normal sequence of contemporary
exhibitions, it demonstrated the relevance of historical work to
current artistic practice, and provided another look at printmaking
which is an important part of the gallery’s programme.
The Moon Reflected was the result of Opie’s longstanding
interest in Hiroshige. Rather than being an exercise in
contemporary/historical mix-and-match, it couldn’t have been more
serious and personal from the British artist’s point of view. His
preference for Hiroshige’s later work is significant as it tends to be
broader in style and less narrative, thus accentuating more aesthetic
concerns.
Born in Tokyo in 1797, Hiroshige studied printmaking and painting,
becoming an illustrator of comic poetry and story books. This
exhibition featured three series as well as a number of the artist’s
sketchbooks and the famous Snow, Moon and Flowers triptychs.
Beautiful and unpretentious, these works, assembled from three separate
prints, epitomise Hiroshige’s vision, extraordinary for their breadth
and ambition.
This fully illustrated publication contains an interview between
acclaimed British artist Julian Opie and Timothy Clark of the Japanese
Section, The British Museum.