Serizawa: Master of Japanese Textile Design (Japan Society Series)

New Haven CT: Yale University Press, 2009. Softcover. Very Good/None. Softcover, 144 pages. Like new in publisher's shrink-wrap. Designated a Living National Treasure in 1956, Serizawa Keisuke (1895–1984) was one of the greatest artists of 20th-century Japan. This is the first book in English to trace Serizawa's artistic biography in detail using the finest examples of his work from leading Japanese collections. A major exponent of the mingei (people’s crafts) movement, Serizawa achieved fame as a textile designer using traditional stencil-dyeing techniques and often working in large-scale formats such as folding screens or kimonos. The stunning works in this catalogue are important not only for the originality of their conception, but also for the variety of their materials: cotton, silk, hemp and a range of other fibers, and paper decorated with the brilliant yet warm hues of vegetable dyes. Dramatic in design, Serizawa’s textiles have an expressive power that far transcends expectations of a “craft” medium. Record # 350820