Serizawa: Master of Japanese Textile Design (Paperback)
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.
Joe Earle is vice president and director of the gallery at Japan Society in New York City. He is the author of New Bamboo: Contemporary Japanese Masters and Buriki: Japanese Tin Toys from the Golden Age of the American Automobile.