Catalog (175)

[NOTE: I think my late husband Daniel Tretiak wrote this in 2007, after he got this site up and running.] Daniel Tretiak has written a book, The Life and Works of Haku Maki, the important Japanese printmaker of the second half of the 20th Century. Maki toiled alone most of the time between 1960 and 2000. His output was substantial, most of it was cool, crisp, elegant. An example is shown above. I wrote about it: "The print in the center is the kanji for Me or I; it swooshes across the print, as if written with a big brush." It is Poem 71-25, done in 1971. It had an edition of 151. I own the print; I have only seen it offered once -- and I thought it was dramatic and beautiful then and still think so. As part of the print, Maki put his characteristic "splash", the yellow stroke which is part of yet a bit separate from the main image. Now we add eight more images of prints by Haku Maki. They are all in the book and are all beautiful prints. The cover will be selected from these and the one that has been here for quite a while. Which one do you think will be the cover? Here is a list of the images by year and number in the edition. (Note: this listing and the order of the images is still not perfect; this is a work in progress, sorry.) 1968 Zodiac Animal Song Monkey 11/50; 1969 Dance 4 96/105; 1970 Poem 71-25 (Me) 91/100; 1970 Poem 70-84 140/152; 1971 Poem 72-6 17/201; 1978 Collection 16 125/205; 1988 Z-1 Persimmon 18/100; and 1995 Zen 3-B 7/27; Like the first image on this site: a good Maki print draws the eye toward the center, there is little clutter between the outer margin and the image depicted. Maki's most well-known work may have been the illustrations he did for the translated volume, Festive Wine. But he did much more. His work was done in a modern way in a modern era -- yet it was based on many very traditional concepts (ancient and early kanji, ceramics, persimmons, and the like). His work is carefully discussed in this book. This site is a work in progress, many things will change in the coming weeks. Note: Text and images all covered by Copyright; use of them requires the expressed written permission of Daniel Tretiak, author of this book.

[Note: Daniel Tretiak wrote this in 2012.] This work is now 5 years old. I set forth the main aspects of the works of Haku Maki, the main themes of his work, the main aspects of his style, and the broad range of his works. I think I did not realize in 2007 the range and versatility of his work, its drama and subtlety. Since this book was published I have written 9 research notes and many descriptions of key works. Amazon and Ren Brown Collection distribute this book. rbc4art@renbrown.com

Potato Z-8 12/24 Big kanji, big collage. Calligraphy and signature in silver ink. Excellent condition. 9.5" x 10.5"

Late in life, circa 1999, Japanese master print maker, Haku Maki, did this shikishiban print. It is called Z1-12 (WAZA); 7.25'' x 8.25''; Shikishiban is a nearly square format. Shikishiban are often mounted on a thick, light cardboard. Japanese people like to give them as presents. The print is in the US and will be shipped from there.

Maki’s Big Reds—an appellation which my late husband Daniel Tretiak gave to Maki’s large, red designs (usually kanji) on black backgrounds—are well-represented by this ox, a subject Maki did many times. An artist’s proof (A.P.), it measures 16in x 21.75in.

This small lively print depicts two generations of small children playing. It measures 6.25in x 8 3/16in.

In the last year of Maki’s life, Daniel Tretiak tells us, he was ill but continued to work. He did lithographs on shikishi board, which was a hard board covered in white rice paper. The back was yellow with a small design in gold and the whole board is gold-edged. Poem 8B is one of those works done in the 1999-2000 period.

This print, done in 1969, has—Dan Tretiak writes—an abstract child and a reddish moon. He also saw the blue seemingly changing from light to dark. The print is horizontal, measuring 15in W x 11.5in H.

Done in 1992, Poem 5 is a very stylized take on the kanji for woman女. Maki did many, many versions of woman. All of them are interesting, most of them striking. To me, this dramatic rendering strays the furthest from the actual character. Daniel Tretiak called this a Square Woman. This was done using the silkscreen process; it is not an embossed woodblock print. It measures 11.5in x 11.5 in.

In 1977 Haku Maki did the images for the months of the year. June is a horizontal print measuring 13.75in W x 6in H.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

J-10 is an exciting example not only of Haku Maki’s depiction of Chinese characters but also his use of a hard gold-edged board (instead of simple single or multiple sheets of paper). In the last year of Maki’s life, Daniel Tretiak tells us, he was ill but continued to work. He did lithographs on shikishi board, which was a hard board covered in white rice paper. The back was yellow with a small design in gold and the whole board is gold-edged. These words apply to J-10 as well. J-10 measures 7.25in W x 8.25in H. It is in excellent condition.

This silkscreen offering is said by some to depict Kabuki make-up. It is 8sq inches and in excellent condition. See picture 4, the title, where Maki seems to have written Kuma 92/--his numeral 1 was usually a straightforward vertical 1.