Clifton Karhu Woodblock Print "Ginkakuji Garden", 1979
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Framed Woodblock print by Kyoto artist Clifton Karhu. Image of "Ginkakuji" (The Temple of the Silver Pavillion"), a well-known Kyoto landmark. Contrary to many of Karhu's prints which use multiple colors in architectural scenes, this print uses only shades of indigo within the strong black key lines, as well as the masterful use of woodgrain in the foreground to capture the famous dry garden at this temple. The use of various shades of indigo is reminiscient of the "aizuri-e", blue prints, of the late 18th & early 19th centuries in Japan. Signed and dated, 1979, #43 of edition on 100. Image size: H.10 x W.10", Frame size: H.15.5 x W.16". Both print and frame are in good condition. Clifton Karhu was born in Duluth, Minnesota in 1927. His early experience in Japan was as an American soldier, stationed at Sasebo from 1946 to 1948; then later as a missionary for the Lutheran Church from 1952 to 1958. In between, back home in the U.S., he attended the Minneapolis School of Art from 1950 to 1952. His home has long been Japan, specifically Kyoto, where he lived since 1963. After leaving missionary work and returning to the arts in 1958, he painted and sketched while living in Gifu Prefecture and had his first exhibition there in 1961. Woodblock printing has been his mainstay since moving to Kyoto, where he has built a strong reputation in the Japanese art community. He has also exhibited widely throughout Japan, the U.S. and Europe. He enjoys somewhat of a celebrity status in Kyoto, where he often described as “more Japanese than a Japanese,” often seen wearing kimono and living the life of a traditional Japanese artist. Inspiration for his works often come from his immediate surroundings, showing local architecture and landscapes; old houses, streets, temples, and the like. Considerable biographical and exhibit information is available on the web and a recent retrospective of his work, “Karhu @ 77: A Tribute" was published by Norman Tolman of the Tolman Collection in Tokyo, who has long been a leading representative of Karhu’s work in Japan. His recent passing on March 24, 2007 was a great loss to the Japanese print world. A link to an obituary in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune in his birth state of Minnesota can be found here: http://www.startribune.com/466/story/1083623.html
Framed Woodblock print by Kyoto artist Clifton Karhu. Image of "Ginkakuji" (The Temple of the Silver Pavillion"), a well-known Kyoto landmark. Contrary to many of Karhu's prints which use multiple colors in architectural scenes, this print uses only shades of indigo within the strong black key lines, as well as the masterful use of woodgrain in the foreground to capture the famous dry garden at this temple. The use of various shades of indigo is reminiscient of the "aizuri-e", blue prints, of the late 18th & early 19th centuries in Japan. Signed and dated, 1979, #43 of edition on 100. Image size: H.10 x W.10", Frame size: H.15.5 x W.16". Both print and frame are in good condition. Clifton Karhu was born in Duluth, Minnesota in 1927. His early experience in Japan was as an American soldier, stationed at Sasebo from 1946 to 1948; then later as a missionary for the Lutheran Church from 1952 to 1958. In between, back home in the U.S., he attended the Minneapolis School of Art from 1950 to 1952. His home has long been Japan, specifically Kyoto, where he lived since 1963. After leaving missionary work and returning to the arts in 1958, he painted and sketched while living in Gifu Prefecture and had his first exhibition there in 1961. Woodblock printing has been his mainstay since moving to Kyoto, where he has built a strong reputation in the Japanese art community. He has also exhibited widely throughout Japan, the U.S. and Europe. He enjoys somewhat of a celebrity status in Kyoto, where he often described as “more Japanese than a Japanese,” often seen wearing kimono and living the life of a traditional Japanese artist. Inspiration for his works often come from his immediate surroundings, showing local architecture and landscapes; old houses, streets, temples, and the like. Considerable biographical and exhibit information is available on the web and a recent retrospective of his work, “Karhu @ 77: A Tribute" was published by Norman Tolman of the Tolman Collection in Tokyo, who has long been a leading representative of Karhu’s work in Japan. His recent passing on March 24, 2007 was a great loss to the Japanese print world. A link to an obituary in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune in his birth state of Minnesota can be found here: http://www.startribune.com/466/story/1083623.html
