Catalog (279)

In the late 1970s, ceramics became an important concentration for Maki’s artistic creations. As ceramic objects are central to Japanese culture, he didn’t have to look far for inspiration. He did many fine examples and the texture of each item is always striking. This tan bowl was created in 1979. Collection 19 was number 12 of 205 and it measures 9.5inW x 10.5inH. It is embossed and in good condition.

Poem 68-40—strongly related to Poem 69-13 which is posted below on this site—is an old embossed print. Created in 1968, a year before its “cousin,” it is similarly in excellent condition. Poem 68-40 measures 11 3/8in W x 15in H and is number 29 of an edition of 72.

In his book Daniel Tretiak says: “Maki’s kanji prints were normally of one main color against a white or black background. Poem 71-29 below is an exception—and all the more interesting because of it. In this print, Maki has created an abstract Person—the splashes of color show the head, eyes, shoulder, and two legs.” It measures 8.75in W X 12in H and is no. 73 of an edition of 152.

Every so often, Maki decided to create an all-white print to which he added two or three small bits of color. Daniel Tretiak talked of Maki’s fondness for adding balance to his prints especially with the use of moons or splashes of color. Poem Y is an example. The print is beautifully textured with the colored spots placed in smooth areas among the overall embossing. It measures 17 1/8 square inches and is no.15 of an edition of 50.

Through his career, Haku Maki did a wide array of Chinese characters used in the Japanese language as well (kanji). The large prints that Daniel Tretiak called Big Reds were such kanji. Among Maki’s depictions were black kanji on white backgrounds, some stark, some playful, some easily decipherable, others with which he took great liberties. The artistic possibilities that kanji offered were a fascination of his. This broad-brushed embossed print, Poem 72-55, was done in 1972. It measures 9 3/8in W x 10.5in H and is no. 4 of an edition of 202. The print is in good condition; there are tape remnants on the four corners of the back but they have no impact on the face.

Poem 71-76 is a yellow-gold print with a bit of a paisley influence. It is number 28 of an edition of 154. Created in 1971, it measures 13in wide x 19.5in high. It is in very good condition. There is tape residue on the back but the front is perfect. .

Created in the 1980s, Haku Maki did a series of rarely seen prints called Drop. They seemed to depict oil dropped onto the surface of water. Drop 7 is one of those prints. It is no. 32 of 203 and it measures 9.75in W x 11in H. As with many old prints, it has tape residue on the four edges of the back from a previous framing but there is no impact on the face of the print.

Poem1 mu 無 depicts the kanji for not, none; this character often precedes another character to negate it. Maki liked this character and did it many times. He produced this one in the 1990s.The print is no. 568 of an edition of 777 and measures 11.25 sq in.

Daniel Tretiak tells us that in 1967 Haku Maki produced an alphabet series, Poem A-Z. He did all the letters of the English alphabet. This is Poem W, a strong rendering of the hiragana for You. Tretiak says: The image has a bold white sun in the top half with two dashes of rain-like strokes. It is in wonderful condition. The print is number 23 of an edition of 50. It measures 17.25 inches square. Note also that this print is an early one which he signed in the left corner below his seal. Later he mostly signed in the right margin.

Poem 69-13 is an old embossed print. Created in 1969, it is in excellent condition. It measures 11 1/8in W x 15in H and is number 61 of an edition of 82.

As Haku Maki aficionados know, Maki did many prints depicting the kanji for ox or bull. This one, Z-200b, is one of his great bulls. One of a small edition of 75, it is 12.5 in wide X 19in high. The print, created in 1999, is in excellent condition. For another wonderful example of Maki's ox-making, see Item#1452034 below--a brilliant Big Red ox.

This horizontal print, created in 1973, is Work 73-14A, a dramatic depiction of the kanji for Dragon. It is 17 of 103 and measures 16.25inW x 11.5inH. Maki did perhaps a dozen dragons and this is one of the most striking.

During the 1970s, Haku Maki liked occasionally to do haniwa, depictions of terracotta figures that were funerary objects used during the 3rd to 6th centuries in Japan. This one—71-2—is a face rather than a complete figure. Created in 1971, the print is 50 of an edition of 151. It measures 5.75in x 8.5in. The print is in very good condition, with faint tape residue on the two top corners of the back, with no impact on the face.

This small green image of a child was produced in 1969. It is in good shape, considering its age. It is 12 of 201 and measures 6.75in x 8.75in (17cm x 22.5cm).

Haku Maki liked to do prints of turtles or tortoises. This one, Poem 70-6, has two turtles, the smaller drawn to resemble the hand-written kanji for turtle. The print is 197 of 202 and measures 12in x 12in.

This dramatic Big Red—a name Daniel Tretiak attached to Haku Maki’s large red prints, usually of single Chinese characters (kanji) on black backgrounds—is a character meaning ordinary or commonplace. But Maki has done it in a stand-out way. It is 17.5in W x 24.5inH. NOTE: Dan Tretiak also referred to other large single-character ones of other colors as Big Yellow, Big Green, etc. See an interesting discussion of this between him and a friend at entry #1191431 below.

This is an example of Haku Maki’s production of small prints that were known as San Mon Ban. These prints were usually 2in x 2in but there were instances of larger ones. This one measures 6in x 6in. Dan Tretiak writes that Haku Maki began creating San Mon Ban in early 1975, a set of seven volumes of small prints. For some he used themes from the past, others were new themes that he used again and again in succeeding years. A small rendering for collectors to add to their holdings.

Grape 2 is one of Haku Maki’s depictions of fruit. This one is pure and simple and in good condition. It is 8.5 sq inches.