Fruit C
by Reika Iwami
- Date:
- 1959
- Medium:
- Color woodblock print
- Edition:
- Self-printed
- Source:
- Art Institute of Chicago
by Reika Iwami
$1,000–$8,000. Still life prints are among the artist's most iconic works. Good abstract/water prints: $2,500–$5,000. Key value factors: Iwami Reika's luminous abstract prints are among the most sought-after by female Japanese printmakers. Her cosmic and water-inspired works command the highest prices.
Dating to 1959, this print falls in Iwami's early career, after her studies under Koshiro Onchi but before she fully committed to the deep-embossing and metallic-leaf techniques that defined her mature Water series. The work belongs to a small group of still-life subjects from this period, likely depicting one or more pieces of fruit in a composition that balances color field against form. As a sosaku-hanga work, it would have been designed, carved, and printed entirely by Iwami herself, the artist controlling each stage of production. The designation "C" situates it within a numbered sequence, suggesting Iwami was working through variations — possibly exploring different color arrangements or compositional cropping of the same subject. The color woodblock medium here would have involved multiple blocks registered precisely to build layered pigment, with bokashi gradation likely used to model rounded fruit surfaces.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Fruit C was created by Reika Iwami (岩見禮花) in 1959.
Fruit C depicts food & drink.
