Lyric No. 23

"Lyric No. 23" occupies the midrange of Onchi's numbered Lyric series — past the early explorations of the series' formal vocabulary and approaching the late mature works, this composition represents his sustained abstract practice in productive equilibrium. The specific formal character of this print — its color relationships, compositional structure, and quality of mark — constitutes its meaning: the "lyric" quality embedded in form rather than subject, the print functioning as pure visual poetry.