A Heron
by Joshua Rome
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Source:
- Japanese Art Open Database
by Joshua Rome
$1,500–$6,000. Smaller works: $1,500–$2,500. Key value factors: Rome's contemplative abstract prints bridge Eastern and Western aesthetics. Limited editions hold value.
A solitary heron, rendered in the mokuhanga (Japanese water-based woodblock) technique that Joshua Rome has practiced for decades in Japan, stands or wades in an environment suggested rather than fully described. Rome's approach to this traditional bird-and-flower subject departs from the decorative precision of Edo-period [kacho-e](/glossary/kacho-e), instead using the absorbent qualities of [washi](/glossary/washi) paper and water-based pigments to create soft-edged forms that blur the boundary between the bird and its surroundings. The [oban](/glossary/oban) format gives the heron room to occupy space with the stillness that defines the species, its angular posture and elongated proportions naturally suited to the vertical or near-vertical compositions that Rome favors. The print bridges Western sensitivity to abstract form with the Japanese craft tradition of carving and hand-printing each color from cherry-wood blocks.
A Heron was created by Joshua Rome.
A Heron depicts birds & flowers.
