Fascination

Fascination (1996), a lithograph by Shuji Wako, is a still life set against a black background with an arched, deep-blue windowpane at center. In the foreground, a folded cloth patterned in blue, gold, and white diamond and floral motifs drapes over a stand topped with a red-and-gold patterned sphere and a small gold origami crane; a smaller matching sphere and crane appear in the distance beyond the window. The composition balances the geometric arch and cloth folds against the bright cloisonné-like colors of the spheres, set within the surrounding darkness.