THREE SNOWY HERONS

Three herons in snow — the birds' white forms almost merging with the snowfall that surrounds them, their long legs marking the only distinct vertical lines in an otherwise undifferentiated white landscape — create a composition of extreme formal simplicity and atmospheric power. The repetition of three herons in snow rather than one amplifies the theme: the whiteness of the birds and the whiteness of the snow asserting themselves against each other, the slight tonal differences between heron-white and snow-white defining the animals' presence. Kotozuka handles this demanding monochromatic subject with characteristic restraint.