Herb, Keys and Pretenders
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Source:
- Japanese Art Open Database
$1,000–$5,000. Common subjects: $1,000–$2,000. Key value factors: Hiratsuka's intricate mixed-media prints appeal to collectors of both Japanese and contemporary Western art.
Three nouns, three categories of object, assembled into a single title that resists logical connection: an herb, a set of keys, and pretenders. Hiratsuka's woodblock print arranges these disparate elements into a composition that functions through association rather than narrative. The herb suggests the organic and medicinal, the keys imply access or denial, and the pretenders introduce human deception. Together they create a rebus-like image where meaning emerges from juxtaposition. The woodblock medium binds these unrelated subjects through shared material process, each element carved from the same block and printed with the same pressure, giving them a visual unity that their conceptual relationship lacks.
Herb, Keys and Pretenders was created by Yuji Hiratsuka (平塚雄二).
Herb, Keys and Pretenders depicts still life and abstract.
