Author: SengaiPublisher: Scheidegger and Spiess
ISBN: 9783858817495
Category : Ink painting
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Gibon Sengai s ink-wash (or literati) paintings have kept a modern, humorous character since their creation by the Zen master 200 years ago. His highly reduced, sometimes almost graphic novel-like style still appeals also to a younger audience today. Sengai s paintings often represent Zen-buddhist wisdom, the motifs in many cases completed by calligraphic inscriptions. Tokyo s Idemitsu Museum of Art holds an important collection of work by Gibon Sengai, the 40 best of which are presented in this new book. As Sengai s aphorisms are key to understand the motifs and the wisdom they show, the inscriptions on are all translated into English. Eminent scholars look at selected works, tell the story of Sengai s career from Buddhist monk to painter, and also contextualize his work from historical and religious perspectives. Sengai s paintings are extremely sensitive to exposure to light and therefore shown very rarely and for very limited periods only. The book is published to coincide with an exhibition at the Museum Rietberg in Zurich in summer 2014. "
