Catalog (284)

Big Green shows 4 moving figures.A similar image is in the US in the kas frane but it is 3 moving figures. I think these were not frequent uses for Maki Poem 71-84

Haku Maki Poem 71-25 63/100 This print is the cover image of my book ,The life and works of Haku Maki I have never offered it for sale. the Front edicts Maki’s rendering of I or Me It is a bold big Red the red is embossed on a black ink field this print is 20 ‘ x 30” after being restored in the US by Michael Minckler it is in very good shape there is a crease on the front only visible from the back The print has great red kanji. Placed in a huge matte and framed it will stand out in any home. There have been no copies on sale for a number of years. Sold as is where is. Please ask for any additional information Thanks! Sold with signed certificate of authenticity. SHIPPING: All buyers should pay $100 for insured EMS USPS express shipping. But I will pay $50. RETURNS: Accepted within 7 Days of receipt should the description of the print not be accurate. Since my descriptions are as detailed as possible (see feedback), “buyer remorse” is not an acceptable reason to return the print. If you are uncertain about any information I’ve posted, please ask prior to purchasing. If returned, buyer pays return shipping and refund is for cost of print only. Print must be returned in same condition.

The big red Poem 71–74 is a rarely seen Maki Big Red. It shows a three-character phrase from Daoist literature 心善渊 “Heart like a deep pool, clear and calm, not affected by external environment.” As depicted by Maki, it is a stunning print. It was seen electronically but once in the past decade. It is coming back to Asia with a big red roar. It is embossed, the red design surrounded by black ink, and is typical of a short period in Maki’s life—the early 1970s—when he did such dramatic prints. This big red has it all—pink splash on the kanji, a blue dash above the black field and a black sun below the red field.

Japan Haku Maki 1965 or so Cell B This is a very early Maki print . He did it no later than 1966 it depicts many cells of a human all done very explicitly and clearly Cell was an early Maki theme He used it less than a dozen times the cells must have been busy re-creating themselves But here they seem calm and static Embossed z

Figure 1 is a dark and brooding big red just received so dark even out of frame and matte maki s first big red appeared in 1963 this is an abstract rendering of the kanji for woman she seems to be standing there swaying ever so slowly this print has a good green blue sun at the upper left Here no splashes yet to add color figure 3 figure 3 here figure 4 alsom here

JJapan Haku Maki Green Ox & Knife This is a beautiful rare green Maki print. It was done in 1971 the cream color calligraphy is as if added after the dark green ‘”flintstone” was prepared. The calligraphy is a light green there is a wonderful white stroke at the right It is one of the many ways Maki signed off on a print. It is balanced off by a soft yellow stroke at the left poem 71 - 61

In 1976 Haku Maki did his eight-volume San Mon Ban--a total of 96 different embossed images. These included many items Maki had just used, would use soon and used later. I first show images of two prints like those in San Mon Ban but slightly larger. Then two images of insects in San Mon Ban and then 4 images of insects long hidden in my archives--even to me. These might all be called Maki Lite. The two shown here are Insect 2 Fleas; Insect 3 ants There is also a simple Insect and another Insect 4 ants. All reportedly had editions of 100 but I have never seen them except in archive and I do not have the actual print.

China agate earrings Qing

Haku Maki was undoubtedly Japan’s most prolific print maker of the second half of the 20th century. Many of his works were serious works of kanji and also ceramics. These three are perhaps a bit frivolous. They are actually pretty: each one has seeming globs of color The blue one on the left has kanji in the blue stone; the central one has a wonderful black kanji for Mountain in the center; and the one on the right four globs, each of a different color. And one splash.

China old light huali wood kanggui mid Qing

[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.

In this research note, Daniel Tretiak discusses an early Big Red print, Poem 68-1.

Maki Poem 616 earluy print still with single layer of paper. The image is of a Bird and Moon. This print has been fully restored

This print--Haku Maki's Poem 71-9--is the kanji for woman.

This print contains Japanese hieroglyphics not real kanji. It shows "rain" "day" and maybe a bird. It is 19.3x12.6cm.

Work 73-12A is a firm and strong dragon not fierce not wimpy. The central kanji is offset by a small yellow Maki sun at the top left and a red splash on the right. They counterbalance each other and give color and verve to the whole print.

This wonderful print was a gift to Daniel Tretiak and me on the occasion of our wedding in June 1964.

The bottom margin states this is 39/777 but did Maki really do that many and if so where are they? This is a late-in-life Maki print. Where did this idea come from? A sunflower! I know van Gogh did quite a few famous paintings depicting many sunflowers, all realistic paintings. The Japanese printmaker Tadashi Nakayama did many different takes on Sunflowers. These were realistic depictions. Nakayama did fewer. Maki did this one and it was quite abstract It was the only Sunflower he did. It came late in life; it is a silk screen effort and interesting if not compelling. He used yellow and blue to depict the flower in this. I do not believe Maki did 777 of this or any image.