Hanga
Unknown, Face and Shell by Kaoru Kawano — Japanese Woodblock print

Unknown, Face and Shell

by Kaoru Kawano

Sōsaku-hanga
Still LifePortraitsAbstract
Medium:
Woodblock print
Edition:
Self-printed

Description

A face peers out from the composition, a seashell nearby or incorporated into the image — two objects that share a quality of formal mystery, the face with its hidden interiority and the shell with its concealed, spiraling depth. Kawano often juxtaposed human features with natural objects in ways that suggested symbolic or psychological relationships rather than narrative ones. The shell as a symbol of beauty, hearing (one holds a shell to hear the sea), and feminine elegance finds an unexpected complement in the direct gaze of the face.

More Prints by Kaoru Kawano

Unknown, child and bird by Kaoru Kawano

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Unknown, Sacred Crane by Kaoru Kawano

Unknown, Sacred Crane

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Unknown, Crane by Kaoru Kawano

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More Still Life Prints

Sandflowers, Shôwa period, dated 1961 by Fumio Kitaoka

Sandflowers, Shôwa period, dated 1961

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Still Life of Vase and Flowers by Ishikawa Toraji

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Making Sounds - Orange by Emiko Aida

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Featured in Collections

Curated cross-cuts that include this print.

Sōsaku-Hanga: The Creative-Print Movement

Frequently Asked Questions

Unknown, Face and Shell was created by Kaoru Kawano (川野薫).

Unknown, Face and Shell depicts still life, portraits, and abstract.