A Clear Day
by Ansei Uchima
- Date:
- 1963
- Medium:
- Color woodblock print
- Edition:
- Self-printed
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
Description
A Clear Day (1963) is a color woodblock print that distills the experience of unclouded atmosphere into abstract form. Uchima, working from his New York studio but drawing on memories of Japanese light and landscape, reduces the subject to essential tonal relationships — the way unobstructed sunlight flattens distances, bleaches color, and creates a visual clarity that feels almost spatial. His sosaku-hanga method (designing, carving, and printing entirely by his own hand) gives the color fields a handmade warmth distinct from mechanical reproduction, each layer of pigment pressed into the paper with the specific pressure of the artist's baren.
More Prints by Ansei Uchima
More Landscapes Prints
Lake Kugushi in Wakasa Province (Wakasa Kugushiko), from the series Souvenirs of Travel I (Tabi miyage dai isshu)"
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Autumn Maple Leaves at Takao, from the album Eight Views of Kyoto (Kyôto hakkei)
Woodblock print
The Beach at Kaiganji in Sanuki Province (Sanuki Kaiganji no hama), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition (Nihon fukei shu II Kansai hen)"
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
Tea Kettle, section of a sheet from the series "Mirror of Stone Rubbings of Views of the Provinces" (Kohon meihitsu ishizuri kagami)
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
A Clear Day was created by Ansei Uchima (内間安瑆) in 1963.
A Clear Day depicts landscapes and abstract.