Catalog (175)

Haku Maki did many prints some with interesting backgrounds some not. This modest run of rather large pints had a special black background: it is the texture of old leather. . Maki created and used this technique only in 1981 prints and mainly in persimmons. The persimmons are plump and meaty the green leaves of the fruit are nicely proportioned. Maki did only a few twin persimmon prints and none after 1980 except this one. 81-10 is in frame 2. It is 12 x 18 inches 46 cm x 32 cm “The stem and leaf of the persimmon tree are done in raised glossy black urushi lacquer. “ The persimmon appears in autumn in Japan (and China) and is associated with that season The other one is 81 31 only one known to me gray leather like black. 81 32 We have added 81-10. A single persimmon with the distinctive gray background. I do not know the title of the print in frame 5 8110, 30 31 40 no number 32 white 50

[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.

Haku Maki was a major creative Japanese print maker of the second half of the 20th century. His major output from 1965 to 1990 consisted to several different themes of prints Kanji was the main theme for the first 15 years of that period. Then. Ceramics was second. But he also did a large number of prints with persimmon on theme. Most of the persimmon prints showed just one fruit. A few showed two Only two showed 3. These are shown here Both prints are serene no jarring colors or edges. The one with 3 clearly visible one shows 3 different persimmons side by side The shadow persimmon are quiet hard to see even when held in hand. Both prints are well done, sharp clear images. The typical bottom margin shows the edition number the Maki signature and title of the print From 1971 to the early 80s he did well over 100 prints with Persimmon as the main theme The print with the colored persimmons is Kaki Z-1 The white persimmons print is simply 81-3 manning It was done in 1981 persimmon is sign of autumn i am told As autumn wanes, and first snows arrive, persimmons are a radiant reminder of beauty in a time of decline and decay, offering hope that the beauty of the fruit will attract birds to disseminate seeds for regrowth in the spring. Hence a sign of joy, beauty and hope for the future...... The last frame is from a private collection in Asia. I cannot ascertain the title or the year. Maki used the same blocks for the last two images.

In 1970 the famous collector of Japanese art Felix Juda commissioned Haku Maki to produce at least 3 different sets of cards for greeting and thanks. Here we show three. The 4th image may have been one such card or a small print. I have owned it for many years and am still studying it. The ones done for Juda varied in attractiveness. The green one is vintage Maki: good design, good color, and good composition. It is only 5”x 5” but packs a wallop. It shows the kanji for Stone (pronounced To in Japanese) with a small yellow sun added for oomph It is the functional equivalent of a splash. The balance and integrity of the print are clear. The other Juda collection images vary from bizarre to plain. The one with four different images includes a pair of pursed lips, an eye and what? The other shows what I think can be a fishhook. How many other images did Maki do for Juda? Felix Juda collected many works by the famous Onchi Koshiro who of course was Maki’s first and only teacher. The student honored the teacher by doing this series for the teacher’s fan, Juda. I believe all were done in or about 1970. They have the style of that year even as they were not dated. The little blue at the right is also untitled; it may have been done for Juda too It shows a crescent moon and two kanji -- nice balance, nice composition. The last 3 may also be from the Juda Collection but I am not certain. Juda (1909 – 1997) was a senior investment director of Sutro & Co. of Los Angeles , where he was born and died.

In this note, one of three he numbered Note 23, Daniel Tretiak discusses a Big Blue print Poem 69-17 plus another black-and-white Poem 71-84--and how he acquired them.

This is a quite large Maki Persimmon print This is Work 74-67 Haku Maki did prints with Persimmon as a main theme from the early 1970s for well over a decade. This is a fairly large image: it shows one persimmon growing out from the tree, with leaves coming off the branch. The leaves are very clear: they have been tipped with shellac so they look very shiny . This is 43/154, here Maki used ink the color of the persimmon when putting his seal on the print. To the best of my knowledge this is only the second copy of this print I have seen in more than ten years. It was not treated well at the beginning of its life: a framing company put tape on it man-years ago and the tape remnants cannot be removed. They are shown in the images of the back. Otherwise condition is very good, the persimmon is clean front and back and the front is clean. Tape remnants on the front

Haku Maki Poem-j 1966 seal script according to Robert Craft great condition Japan Haku Maki Big Yellow This lovely yellow print was created in 1970 It reveals two seal script characters of the Song dynasty This is the only copy ever seen It is in great condition

This research note was edited by Lois Dougan Tretiak whose assistance is gratefully noted.

Note 10 part II continues to discuss the evolution of Maki's prints.

The third part of Note 10 looks at the prints Maki probably did in the 1969 to 1975 period but that, at the time of Dan Tretiak's writing this, had not yet come to light.

Daniel Tretiak's Research Note 12 took a look back at Haku Maki's works from 1965 to 1970.

Please read the research note in frame 12 of the photos. There apparently was some misnumbering--there is no Note 13.

This huge print Work 73-54 (Fish) is one of three unusually large prints Maki did. It measures 3ft x 6ft. Please see the research note that is included with the photos.

This note discusses newly emerged prints (it was written in July 2014). Daniel Tretiak wrote: Please enjoy. I own A C W and Flower Song 5.

This note looks at newly emerged prints that were created between 1968 and 1980. They include Work 616 (Moon and Bird) and the Figure series of prints.

This note looks at newly emerged prints (in 2015, that is) including Poem 72-110, Poem 70-10, and a work simply called 81-11.

This note discusses new (in 2015)finds in the world of Haku Maki prints.

This note, another of the many Daniel Tretiak wrote in 2015,looks at newly emerged early works of Haku Maki.