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Illustrated Life of Prince Shotoku – Spring

Illustrated Life of Prince Shotoku – Spring © EP 2021

Japan, 2008

Mixed media on paper, 51 x 26.50 cm

signed (lower right)

Donated from the State of Japan in 2008


Toshihiro Hamano’s artworks are cultural crossroads, philosophical meeting points. A graduate of the Tama Art University, the artist quickly rose to prominence as a graphic designer, sculptor and painter. A believer in contact and transmission, he founded, in 1971, The Ryu Contemporary Art Group – an artistic entity that seeks to bridge eastern and western cultures and promote mutual understanding through dialogue. The initiative is rooted in an intellectual and aesthetic appreciation for ‘unity’. Indeed, Hamano’s practice is strongly guided by the Zen concept of ‘ma’ (間, which literally translates to ‘interval’), an encompassing void which allows fragments, even opposed or contrasting, to function as a whole. Such is his interpretation of the meeting of East and West. In the eyes of the artist, the concept is best explored through the mastery of two-dimensional painting. As a donation to the European Parliament, Illustrated Life of Prince Shotoku – Spring can therefore be understood as a bridge towards ‘ma’. The composition summarises the fundamentals of Japanese print art. Its traditional plane by plane structure (cherry blossom/red sun/land) is inherently flat, and thereby in accord with Hamano’s conceptual objective. The subject is symbolically Japanese, the cherry blossom and red sun being two national emblems (the latter featuring on the country’s flag). Overall, the painting is an expression of Japan’s essence, presented to the West as an open hand.

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Illustrated Life of Prince Shotoku – Spring

Toshihiro HAMANO

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