OBARA WASHI COLLAGE - MIXED MEDIA ON PAPER BY KASUGAI MASAYOSHI (1950s)

A large abstract expressionist action painting by Japanese artist Kasugai Masayoshi (b.1921).  The abstract composition is comprised of tan, black, and white splatter over a blue-gray field of handmade washi paper with touches of gold leaf throughout.  It is mounted on masonite with an off-white linen liner inside a silver frame.  Signed lower left.  Sight: 67"x 31", Frame 69.5"x33.5".  From a private Rhode Island collection. KASUGAI MASAYOSHI AKA MASAYOSHI KASUGAI (b.1921) was a master papermaker and artist who lived in the paper-making village of Obara in Aichi prefecture, Japan. In 1945, the artist Fuji Tatsukichi developed a process for making pictures through the use of various textured and colored paper materials, and this has become known as ‘Obara Washi Art’.  Mr. Kasugai in particular perfected special techniques for creating trees and landscapes by laying unmacerated strips of Kozo inner bark into a pulp background. Details Dimensions 33.5ʺW × 2ʺD × 60.5ʺH Sty