Void

Artist Suda Kokuta (Japanese, 1906–1990)

Date1989

MediumHanging scroll: ink on paper

DimensionsImage area: 35 1/4 × 23 1/4 inches (89.5 × 59.1 cm);
Mounting: 48 3/4 × 24 1/2 inches (123.8 × 62.2 cm)

ClassificationsCalligraphy

Credit LineAcquired through the George and Mary Rockwell Fund

Terms

Calligraphy
Hanging scroll: ink

Object number2018.009

Label CopySuda Kokuta was a contemporary painter and calligrapher known for his vigorous style of brushwork. Initially, he worked on figurative paintings, but in the 1950s, he began abstraction and avant-garde calligraphy. During that time, Suda became close to the writers and editors of the Bokubi, an avant-garde Japanese calligraphy periodical that worked to situate calligraphy in the context of modern art movement. Later in his career, he immersed himself in Zen Buddhism, which is reflected in his art as shown here. In Zen Buddhism, emptiness or void is a concept that all things are empty. Suda’s thick brushstrokes were boldly and swiftly written. Splashes of ink accentuate the artist’s movement. Some of the strokes go even beyond the paper, as if the character is extending beyond the frame.

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