Hisami Kubo Woodblock Print Collection: Star People - The Trajectory of an "Individual"

A collection of prints by woodblock artist Sutemi Kubo.

Kubo began creating woodblock prints in 1975, teaching himself the craft. His simple works, printed in a single color of black ink on paper, now number approximately 2,000. Rather than aiming for large-scale or technically elaborate expressions, he has consistently carved out the existence of each individual person who can be lost in society, and the voices within them.

In the 1970s, he participated in social movements such as the Yokkaichi pollution problem, the Okinawa Reversion struggle, and the Sanrizuka struggle. However, witnessing the contradictions within political struggles, he withdrew from activism. Thereafter, he pursued the nature of the "individual" through woodblock prints, an individual who would not be absorbed by groups or authority.

Social critique, labor, family, loneliness, life and death. The scenes where figures, animals, insects, and plants intertwine exhibit elements common to German Expressionism, Surrealism, and caricature, along with a gaze toward humanity that is weak, pathetic, and sometimes comical.

This collection includes works from his early period to recent works themed around "stars." It traces the trajectory of Sutemi Kubo's creative work, which viewed the pursuit of the "individual" as the smallest yet greatest struggle an individual can undertake.

[Title] Sutemi Kubo Woodblock Print Collection: Hoshi Hito: A Trajectory of the "Individual"
[Publisher] GENSUI SEISAKUSHITSU
[Publication Date] April 1, 2013, First Edition, First Printing
[Page Count] 159 pages
[Size] Approx. 187 x 245 x 17mm / 538g
[Format] Hardcover
[Language] Japanese
[Title Reading] HOSHI HITO ARU KO NO KISEKI KUBO SUTEMI MOKUHANGA SHUU
[Author/Editor] Sutemi Kubo / Author, Maho Okabe / Editor and Designer
[Printing] Kawachiya Print
[Platemaking] Gensui Helio
[ISBN] 9784901813631
[Condition] Used [7] Very Good
[Accessories] -
[Featured In] -
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Sutemi Kubo (born 1948)

Woodblock artist born in Tsu City, Mie Prefecture.

He founded an art club in high school and moved to Tokyo in 1966. He studied at an art institute and created oil paintings. In the 1970s, he participated in social movements such as the Yokkaichi pollution problem, the Okinawa Reversion struggle, and the Sanrizuka struggle, but felt contradictions within political struggles and withdrew from activism.

From 1975, he began creating woodblock prints on his own. He has produced single-color black woodblock prints on themes such as individuals in society, labor, family, loneliness, life, and death. He has exhibited his works primarily in Mie, as well as Aichi, Tokyo, and Niigata.

In 2018, he held a special exhibition at the Buchheim Museum in Germany. His works are housed in the Fukuoka Art Museum.

His main publications include "Sutemi Kubo woodcuts / Holzschnitte 1977–2012" and "A Man Who Eats Rain: Sutemi Kubo Woodblock Print Collection."

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