76 - 34 (Nothing) – Works

76 - 34 (Nothing)

20th century

Japanese, 1924 - 2000

Maki Haku is known primarily for his inventive transformations of Chinese characters into abstract works of art. Maki rejects the traditional art of calligraphy and instead employs Chinese ideographs as purely visual design motifs. The artist uses embossing to create surface texture, over which he prints his distorted characters in pitch-black ink, often punctuated by one or two bright spots of pure color. This work transforms the character for "nothing" into a form of great presence.

Screenprint with embossing

Gift of Frances and Thomas Blakemore

98.53.93

Not currently on view

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