Summer - Summer Pond

Created in 2022, Summer - Summer Pond is a recent mezzotint that turns from Hamanishi's earlier abstract and object-based work toward the depiction of natural landscape. The summer pond subject introduces water, vegetation, and seasonal atmosphere into a practice that had long focused on manufactured objects and geometric forms. Water presents a particular challenge and opportunity for the mezzotint technique: its reflective surface creates complex patterns of light that the burnished plate can render with extraordinary nuance, from the bright flash of direct reflection to the dark absorption of deep water. The summer setting implies lotus leaves, dragonflies, and the heavy warmth of the Japanese humid season. Hamanishi's late-career engagement with landscape subjects suggests an expanded ambition to apply his refined technique to the full range of visual experience.