
Leo, from the Zodiac Series
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Harvard Art Museums
- Image courtesy of
- Harvard Art Museums
Description
Leo, the fire sign associated with solar energy, pride, and radiant self-expression, receives formal treatment in Kurosaki's geometric abstract idiom. The lion's mane and the sign's solar symbolism may register through radiating or centrally organized geometric forms, with warm color fields—yellows, oranges, deep golds—dominating the composition. Within the Zodiac series, Leo represents the peak of summer and the sign ruled by the sun, associations that typically produce the most assertive and high-contrast compositions in Kurosaki's cycle. The hard-edged color planes, achieved through careful woodblock carving and precise registration, create a bold, resolved surface. Multiple woodblock impressions build up the warm color layers on [washi](/glossary/washi), with Kurosaki's [baren](/glossary/baren) technique ensuring even ink distribution across the flat geometric areas.





![[abstract composition with diagonal woodgrain] by Gen Yamaguchi](https://1.api.artsmia.org/800/135949.jpg)