%C2%A9 Morita Shiry%C5%AB
Return, 1961
Morita Shiryūexpand_more
Ink on paperexpand_more
Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundationexpand_more 2015.79.201
Not on Viewexpand_more
Morita Shiryū revolutionized the conventional perception of Japanese calligraphy into a global avant-garde aesthetic. His artistic breakthrough was in the mid-1950s but it was not until the 1960s when his creativity began to be recognized more widely, and eventually internationally. In Morita’s oeuvre is a total of 16 known versions of the character kan 還, which according to the artist means to “return to the original source.” It is a recurring theme in his choices of Chinese characters to express one’s inner self; a state of mu (nothingness) which is, according to Zen Buddhism belief, inherent to human nature. In this case he is referring to returning to this “original source” of nothingness.
Details
- Title
- Return
- Artist Life
- 1912 - 1998
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 2015.79.201
- Catalogue Raisonne
- Murase, Art through a Lifetime, no. 465; Morita Shiryū Catalogue Raisonné 1952-1998, p. 55 #XVII-308
- Curator Approved
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© Morita Shiryū