Ref. No. 628
Calligraphy 'Sou' (To Create) by Shoukin HATANAKA
| Origin | Japan |
|---|---|
| Date | 2025 |
| Medium | Canvas |
| Dimensions |
Depth2.4 cm / 0 15⁄16 in
Height70.5 cm / 27 3⁄4 in
Width90 cm / 35 7⁄16 in
|
| Condition | Very Good |
| Signature | Shoukin |
Provenance
- The artist herself
Publication
- Hatanaka Shoukin Calligraphy Exhibition: Dialogue between Black and White, Kyoto: Art Space Yokaan, 2025, [page], as "create"
Exhibition
- Art Space Yokaan, Kyoto, Hatanaka Shoukin Calligraphy Exhibition: Dialogue between Black and White, 6–11 May 2025
Short Description
A single character, sou, meaning to create or to bring into being, written in black ink on white paper in a bold, abstract hand. The left half of the character is built up into one dense, almost solid mass of ink. Its surface is broken only by streaks of dry brush and a few narrow slivers of bare paper.
The right-hand element is pared down to two upright strokes with spattered heads and ragged, splayed ends. Trails of ink droplets cross the open ground between the forms and record the speed of the brush. The artist's red seal sits low on the right. The paper is mounted on a wooden panel.
A label on the reverse is inscribed with the title, the artist's name and the date, the fifth month of Reiwa 7 (May 2025), and carries the same seal.
HATANAKA Shoukin (born Sachiyo) trained across the full range of classical calligraphy before turning to avant-garde work. She studied kana calligraphy under Yura Hoei from 1979 to 1987, and in 1982 set up her own commercial practice under the name Calligraphy Sumire.
She went on to study kanji calligraphy with Imaoka Norio from 1995 to 1999, and the mixed kanji and kana style with Hasegawa Suien from 2017 to 2023. Since 1996 she has exhibited every year with the Bokujinkai in Kyoto and Tokyo. The Bokujinkai is the avant-garde calligraphy group founded in Kyoto in 1952 by Morita Shiryu, Inoue Yuichi and three fellow students of Ueda Sokyu. She received the group's Bokujin Prize in 2000 and again in 2010, when she was elected a member.
Her work has been shown in group exhibitions in Kyoto and Milan. She took part in the group exhibitions Cologne/Beauty/Kyoto in 2016 and 2017, and Ito-okashi in Milan in 2017. She has held solo exhibitions at Shimadai Gallery, Kyoto, and Kantenkichi, Shiga (2017), and at Art Space Yokaan, Kyoto (2020 and 2025).