lucky strike

The lowercase title signals a casual register and likely refers to the American cigarette brand whose red-and-white packaging has been a recurring still-life subject across twentieth-century art. As a mokuhanga work, the print would build the recognizable graphic — the bull's-eye logo, the white-on-red lettering — through successive impressions of carved blocks, each color registered by kento marks and burnished into washi with a baren. The flat, saturated areas of brand imagery translate well to the medium's water-based pigments, while bokashi could be used to introduce shadow or surface wear on the pack. The choice of subject continues Stewart's interest in small, worn everyday objects observed at close range, a thread that runs through his etchings and watercolors as well. Exhibited at Hangaten, the work also reflects the cross-cultural condition of his practice: an American artist working in Kyoto, depicting an American product, in a Japanese print technique.