Petit Noir

A woodblock print titled "Petit Noir," or "Little Black," a companion in spirit to Sugai's other explorations of darkness as a primary subject. Where "Le Noir" may command with scale and weight, "Petit Noir" suggests concentration and compression, a smaller dark form that carries no less intensity for its reduced dimensions. Kumi Sugai understood that a compact mark on a broad field could hold as much visual gravity as a large one. The French diminutive in the title adds a note of intimacy, as though the artist were addressing the dark shape directly, almost affectionately.