Sumi Art (Selection) : Sumi-e (Japanese ink wash painting)

Sumi-e – reducing little to even less    ( Deutsch)

 

Sumi is the Japanese form of a Far Eastern art style and painting technique whose roots date back to the Tang Dynasty in China some 1,300 years ago. Further refined there between the 10th and 13th centuries, this style of ink wash painting made its way via Korea to Japan some 500 years ago, where it was developed during the period of the Kitayma culture into a form that has been handed down to today. During this period of a sophisticated intellectual and art world the typical Japanese arts of the Noh theatre, tea ceremony and garden landscaping also emerged, remaining unchanged since then.

 

From ink block to ink

 

"Ink" in this context  is the always black ink that is also used in Far Eastern calligraphy, made from spruce soot and animal glue – the latter extracted from stag antlers or bovine bones as a binder  – and made into small elongated blocks.
Occasionally small amounts of additives such as musk or camphor are blended in. For use the ink block is ground on a special ink stone, with the addition of a small amount of water. Silk occasionally serves as a painting surface, mostly handmade paper is used, produced from very fine fibers of various shrubs and distinguished by a smooth, absorbent structure. Comparable results can be achieved with some modern paper grades.

 

Culturally and spiritually sumi-e is rooted in the spirit of Zen, the Japanese expression of Buddhism. The core aspect is curtailment and detachment from the world as an antithesis to the joys of daily life. Accordingly Sumi-e paintings are reduced in form, whether figurative or abstract, and in color, with only black and gray shades applied.

 

Sumi-e must flow

 

Her method of working requires a high degree of concentration and mastery of the technique since each brush stroke on the paper is permanent and cannot be corrected: the brush must flow over the paper continuously without interruption, within seconds rather than minutes. If this is unsuccessful or less than satisfactory, the work is "dead" because it lacks the right spirit. Therefore many hours are usually required until, after several dozen attempts and sheets of paper, a single sumi-e work remains – if any at all – that meets her artistic aspirations.

 

Dr. Bärbel Schäfer,
Art historian and curator

 

 

Origin and Present Age,
In Süddeutsche Zeitung, Nationwide German Newspapaer

 

Already from her own origin Mayumi Yamakawa succeeds to implement the exhibition theme with a light touch. She chooses the ancient art of calligraphy and Sumi-e to make modern statements. The contemporary appearance does not contradict the his-torical tradition.
The delicate shapes and lines of ink wash painting and abstract draw-ing seem to defy gravity and float on the white paper background. This art requires extreme concentration while being totally with oneself.

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My Rakkan (Artist‘s signature) sealed on my work that is read „Sokyu“: Hemispheric blue skay over 10,000 m high.

Book 2: Sumi-e
Mayumi Yamakawa

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Private collections, Germany

Collection of an interior designer's office, Boston