Hanga
Landscape Aquarius by Hodaka Yoshida — Japanese Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)

Landscape Aquarius

by Hodaka Yoshida

Medium:
Mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock)
Image courtesy of
Saru Gallery

Description

Landscape Aquarius extends Hodaka Yoshida's zodiac landscape series into the imagery of the water bearer, typically reading as a horizontal composition in which flowing or pooled forms sit beneath blocks of contrasting color. Hodaka's approach across the zodiac group is consistent: each sign becomes a structural pretext for a layered geometric arrangement rather than a narrative illustration. The print is produced as mokuhanga on washi, the color blocks cut and inked separately and pulled by hand with a baren, with selective bokashi used to model transitions between water and ground. The palette in works of this period leans toward unmodulated mid-century hues — turquoise, ochre, a flat black — a vocabulary Hodaka developed after extended travel in Mexico, the United States, and Europe. The sheet exemplifies his synthesis: Japanese woodblock craft as inherited from Hiroshi and the Yoshida workshop, redirected toward the abstracted, sign-based landscape that defined his mature practice.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Landscape Aquarius was created by Hodaka Yoshida (吉田穂高).