Title – Two Cats. Description – Two cats in the typical cubistic, semi-abstract style of the artist. Technique – Woodblock print. Period – Sosaku Hanga. Tomoo Inagaki is an important Sosaku Hanga artist. After World War II he found a nice little market niche. He specialized in cat prints in modern design. Tomoo Inagaki was born in 1902 in Tokyo. As a high school student and later as an employee of a steel company he dabbled as a self-taught artist in oil painting and in printmaking. Koshiro Onchi had published an art magazine about poetry and prints, called Poems and Hanga. The young Tomoo Inagaki was impressed by the modern prints published in this magazine – many by Koshiro Onchi and Unichi Hiratsuka. It gave him the last kick to make a decision for an artist career. He quit his job at the steel company and attended a commercial art class for two years. As a graduate of a commercial high school, Inagaki had a natural sense for the financial aspects of life. He decided to go into commercial arts instead of becoming a fine but starving artist. He soon established his own commercial art studio in Tokyo. Inagaki could make a living with his commercial design studio. This enabled him to continue to work as a printmaker. But World War II put an end to his design studio. Tomoo Inagaki died in 1980 in Tokyo. Contemporary Japanese Art after 1945. A new market had risen out of the ashes. The American soldiers of the occupation force had not only their pockets full of dollars but also a good sense for fine Asian art. Some of them became intrigued by Japanese art and developed into avid art and print collectors. Others simply needed a few nice presents for their loved ones at home. Inagaki was one of the contemporary artists who became popular in the 50s. He was invited to the International print biennales in Paris, Tokyo, and Lugano. Tomoo Inagaki – the Cat Artist. By now the artist had found a style of his own and a subject that became his brand recognition – cats. Inagaki displayed them in modern, simplified forms. You could call it typical for the 50s and 60s – kind of close to semi-abstraction. His designs reduced a natural subject to its essentials. The results are astonishing. His cats, although transformed into very basic forms, are very alive and individual. Typical Inagaki prints show smart cats, sleepy cats, fighting cats, cunning cats or humorous cats. And someone with a little bit of own experience with cats will immediately recognize the great mastership in the poignant depiction of the typical behavior, gesture, and nature of these little felines. It is hardly necessary to mention that the artist was a cat lover and had cats of his own. Inagaki prints are usually kept in brown and gray colors, sometimes brushed up with a bit of orange or red. Oliver Statler, who interviewed the artist in the 50s, reports that Inagaki made his designs in a rather spontaneous way from a basic draft. The item “Japanese Woodblock Print by Tomoo Inagaki Two Cats Cubistic, Abstract Mid Century” is in sale since Monday, February 11, 2019. This item is in the category “Antiques\Asian Antiques\Japan\Prints”. The seller is “junktrendyantiques” and is located in Sweetwater, Texas. This item can be shipped to United States.
- Primary Material: Paper
- Type: Woodblock Print
- Region of Origin: Japan
- Maker: Tomoo Inagaki
- Color: Multi-Color
- Sosaku Hanga artist: Tomoo Inagaki
- Tomoo Inagaki – the Cat Artist: 50s and 60s – semi-abstraction
- cubistic, semi-abstract style: Mid Century Modern Art Print
- Woodblock print: Period Sosaku Hanga