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Meditating 58/190 by Willy Seiler — Japanese woodblock print

Meditating 58/190

by Willy Seiler

Source:
ukiyo-e.org

Description

Meditating 58/190, sourced via ukiyo-e.org from Robyn Buntin's inventory, is the fifty-eighth impression from a limited edition of one hundred and ninety. The subject of meditation aligns Seiler's work with the broader Western fascination with Japanese spiritual practice that accelerated in the postwar decades, when figures such as D. T. Suzuki popularized Zen Buddhism to American and European audiences and when Japanese contemplative traditions became central to Western perceptions of the country. A figure in meditation, whether identifiably monastic or secular, offered the printmaker a subject of perfect stillness, the kind of pose that lets the artist concentrate on silhouette, drapery, and the architecture of the seated body. The numbered edition format, identical in structure to several others in Seiler's output, suggests this print belongs to a thematic group of single-figure studies that he editioned consistently across the 1950s through 1970s for the international collector market. The robynbuntin source documents the print's place in the Hawaii-based dealer ecosystem that has long served as a hub for mid-century Japanese prints in the American market. As with other works in this group, biographical details such as exact date, signature placement, and publisher information would require firsthand inspection of an impression.

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Meditating 58/190 was created by Willy Seiler.