vol. 11 Kadosaka Ryu｜門坂 流
summer clouds
1987, engraving on paper, 26.5 × 17 cm (image), edition of 75, price: ¥90,200
Using the magical powers of printmaking that he has mastered over many years, Kadosaka’s work clearly brings to light river flows that have turned into swells and spray, ocean currents that swirl wildly, trees overflowing with vital energy, and plant leaves that sway mysteriously – in short, the ever-wriggling force hidden within nature, which at times appears overly violent and even disturbing. To our everyday, habitual eyes, which seek to tame natural objects for our own purposes, these may indeed appear as fantastical images, as if the nature we believe to be familiar has been strangely transformed.
raging waves
1993, engraving on paper, 14.7 × 35.7 cm (image), edition of 75, price: ¥91,300
wild chrysanthemum
1987, ink on paper, 34 × 30 cm (image), price: ¥220,000
fallen leaves of a sawtooth oak
1993, engraving on paper, 13.5 × 22 cm (image), edition of 75, price: ¥44,000
But even we who are busy with our daily lives are not always trapped by the eyes of our everyday habits. There must be times when we are suddenly freed from this spell and our eyes coincide with those of an artist. At that moment, we may realize that what we thought was an illusion is, in fact, an excess of raw reality. However, even if that experience is so intense that it tears a rift in our everyday lives, the inevitable return to everyday life will likely dismiss the artist’s eyes that have sprouted within us as a useless foreign object with no practical application in life, that is, the eyes of an unknown other, and seal it away once again in the depths of our memories.
Japanese cormorant
1987, ink on paper, 26.5 × 18.5 cm (image), price: ¥154,000
billow
1985, ink on paper, 27 × 35 cm (image), price: ¥198,000
The works left behind by Kadosaka Ryu can be considered devices of anamnesis (memory recovery), stimulating and awakening repressed, sealed-off memories of a life so rich that they can sometimes be terrifying. They will bring us back again and again to the intense and excessive dynamism of life.
ondine (purple)
2010, engraving with hand coloring on paper, 31.5 × 23.5 cm (image), edition of 20, price: ¥93,500
reverie
2009, oil on canvas, 22 × 27.3 cm (F3), price: ¥220,000
Artist
Born in Kyoto in 1948. Entered the Department of Oil Painting at Tokyo University of the Arts in 1968 (classmates included Shuji Tateishi, Kyosuke Chinai, Toeko Tatsuno, and Toshio Shibata). Began creating works using pencil and pen in 1973, undertaking numerous projects such as book design and illustration. Began researching engraving techniques around 1985. Passed away in 2014.
Selected Exhibitions: “Ryumon” (1987, INAX Gallery; first solo exhibition), “The Graphic World of Ryu Kadosaka” (1991, Isetan Shinjuku), “Ryu Kadosaka: Selected Works 1985–2003” (2004, Shinobazu Gallery), “Visionary Flâneurs: The Dreams, Realities, and Visions of Artists” (2024, Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts), among others.
Selected Publications: School of Wind Power: Ryu Kadosaka Works (1988, Gyosei), Ryu Kadosaka Works: A Prophecy of a Hundred Years (2000; collection of cover art for Nobuko Takagi’s serialized novel A Prophecy of a Hundred Years), Ryu Kadosaka Drawing Works I (2006, Shinobazu Gallery), Engraving (2013, Shinobazu Gallery), among others.
Public collection: Machida City Museum of Graphic Arts (almost all prints are stored), Kurobe City Museum of Art, A.D.A.F.A. (Italy)
Art critic
Soma Toshiki｜相馬 俊樹
Born in 1965. Graduated from Keio University, Faculty of Letters, Department of Philosophy, Department of Aesthetics and Art History. Art critic.
Numerous books on the expression of eroticism and fantasy art.
