Kyorai (Past and Future)

Kyorai (Past and Future) takes its title from a Japanese concept of temporal passage — the movement from what has been through the present moment and toward what will come. Yamaguchi's abstract woodblock treatment of this temporal subject likely uses compositional devices that suggest movement and transition: forms that seem to be entering or leaving the picture plane, shapes that imply both the solidity of the past and the openness of the future. The philosophical ambition of this title is characteristic of Yamaguchi's engagement with abstract concepts in his print work.