Take Bamboo

Bamboo — its strong vertical canes, the particular quality of light filtering through its dense canopy, its association with both aesthetic refinement and natural vitality — is Karhu's subject in this 1976 print, titled "Take Bamboo" to make explicit the Japanese identification of the plant. Karhu's bamboo prints are among his most directly nature-oriented works, departing from the architectural subjects that dominated his output to engage with the plant world on its own terms. The tall canes create a pattern of vertical rhythms that suits his direct, graphic woodblock style.