Photo Credit: JapanesePrintsPlus
1980s Mezzotint Print by Koichi Sakamoto
Buy It Now Price: $79.99 (price as of 2018; item no longer available)
Pros:
-This signed and numbered limited edition vintage mezzotint print by the Japanese artist Koichi Sakamoto evokes a feeling of ethereal winter solitude.
-Including its generous margins, this landscape mezzotint print measures 50 cm (19.5 inches) wide by 33 cm (13 inches) tall. The image portion in isolation is a slightly smaller 36 cm (14 inches) by 22 cm (8.5 inches).
-Mezzotint is a type of intaglio print where the artist mechanically roughens or textures parts of the metal printing plate with specialized tools. This produces rich, velvety tones and half-tones, something that is not normally possible in conventionally engraved prints. This website gives an excellent overview of the mezzotint process.
-Koichi Sakamoto was born in 1932 in Tochigi prefecture, north of Tokyo. An active printmaker from the late 1950s until the 1980s, his works were exhibited at shows around the world, from Tokyo to Paris to Mexico City. Sakamoto’s preferred techniques were etching and mezzotint, which helped him impart an unreal, dreamlike quality to his works. Some of his earlier prints even experimented with surrealism.
-This haunting nightscape is both signed and numbered (#19 out of 50) in pencil, with is typical for Koichi Sakamoto’s work. Limited edition prints are more attractive to the art investor because they have far more appreciation potential than art prints with unlimited runs.
-Japan went through a massive financial boom in the 1980s, which later collapsed with terrible economic consequences. I find the otherworldly atmosphere of this Koichi Sakamoto mezzotint print to be fascinating because of its obvious parallels to 1980s Japanese culture – an unreal (economic) dreamscape that can’t possibly persist.
-I recently featured a different monotone winterscape print by Ohio artist Andrea Starkey. I find it fascinating that two prints with a similar color palette and theme can convey such radically distinct impressions.
-Prices for Koichi Sakamoto mezzotint prints have steadily risen over the past 15 to 20 years. It isn’t uncommon for them to sell for several hundred dollars apiece at auction now. My expectation is that this trend of rising prices will continue for the foreseeable future.
-With an asking price of only $80, this vintage Japanese mezzotint landscape print by a recognized artist is an absolute steal.
Cons:
-Although not visible in the photo above, this mezzotint print has significant foxing and yellowing on the margins around the perimeter of the work. While this is not ideal, most of it will be hidden when the print is matted and framed. This minor defect is also the primary reason the work is selling for less than $100.
-The work comes unframed. If you intend to display this gorgeously haunting print on your living room wall, you will need to pay an extra $100 to $200 to have it properly framed.
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