Cedar Lumbers

Date:: Not set
Medium:: Woodblock print
Format:: Oban
Source:: Japanese Art Open Database

Typical Price

Sought-after Karhu Kyoto street or architectural scene: $800–$2,000
Good condition signed print (edition ~100): $400–$1,200
Standard edition impression: $200–$700

Description

Stacks of cedar lumber create a bold geometric composition in this undated print by Karhu, the rough-cut ends of the planks arranged in a tight pattern that reads as much as abstract form as documentary subject. Karhu's eye for the patterns created by materials, labor, and accumulated objects — rooftiles, paper shop screens, fishing nets — is fully on display here, finding in a lumber yard the same visual complexity he found in Kyoto's architectural streetscapes. The grain and color variation in the cedar ends give the composition its richness.