The Master Said

A gnarled, pale tree branch heavy with pink blossoms arcs across the upper portion of the composition, a seated human skeleton perched among its limbs; below, an elderly bearded man in a purple cap and orange-and-blue robe sits cross-legged at a low table, gesturing with one hand over scrolls and papers, a yellow balloon-animal dog and a green skull resting on the table's surface. Stylized cobalt-blue waterfalls cascade down rocky orange-and-brown cliffs on either side of the figure, and two hanging scroll paintings with fish and figures are visible at right against a black background scattered with cherry blossoms. The palette is dominated by saturated orange, black, and blue, rendered in Yuki Ideguchi's 2016 mixed-media work on canvas, gesso, acrylic, spray paint, washi paper, glue, and gold and silver leaf, titled *The Master Said*.