Rikio Takahashi (1917-1999) was one Japan’s prominent sōsaku hanga artists.  Combining the influences of abstract Modern art of the West and the traditional subjects of his native Japan – namely the gardens of Kyoto – Takahashi’s delicately overlaid designs create an atmosphere of stillness and balance inspired by the changing of the seasons and subtleties of light.

“Beginning in the mid-sixties, a white space appeared around the motif reminiscent of the blank areas in ink painting. In the seventies this margin was even more evident, enhancing the light, bright qualities of the print.” 

“In the seventies, this marginal space came to have more obvious structural features. First, a rigidly square geometric form emerged, which had not been seen, but it was often surrounded by empty space.”

Extracts from, Rikio Takahashi – The Woodblock Prints, published March 1998. Essay by Lawrence Smith.