During his lifetime, TANAKA Ryohei released over 760 different editions.
The artist didn’t start making etchings until 1963. He was born, lived, and spent his entire life in Takatsuki, a city almost exactly halfway between Kyoto and Osaka. Takatsuki and the slower pace of suburban life informed his tranquil oeuvre, which mainly consists of extraordinarily detailed observations of structures-- barns, houses, temples, or landscapes --trees, birds in flight, pathways.
He thought of his work as a meditation and seemed genuinely surprised at his world renown. He would always marvel when I shared the compliments bestowed on his work from my clients. “ I just go in the studio every morning and put in a full day’s work”, he would murmur bashfully. - Allison Tolman
