Yowsaku SekinoHanakotoba: The Language of Flowers

Gold-leaf woodblock prints of flowers, vases and landscapes by the Tokyo printmaker, each flower tied to its meaning in Japanese tradition.

The show takes hanakotoba, the Japanese language of flowers, as its frame. Sekino’s prints of cherry blossoms, pansies, sunflowers, peonies, roses and daffodils each carry a symbolic meaning, from fleeting beauty to devotion and love.

He draws, carves and prints every work himself, using hard cherry wood blocks and layering ten or more impressions in water-based ink. Gold leaf pressed into wet ink gives the outlines and backgrounds. A single print takes about three months. Sekino is the son of the sōsaku-hanga printmaker Jun’ichirō Sekino.

Full details at arthousesf.com