Serenity: Kazuyuki Ohtsu : 2027 Wall Calendar

In Kazuyuki Ohtsu’s perfectly balanced compositions, we find tranquil scenes of natural beauty, where autumn leaves erupt in a riot of color and fallen snow quiets the land. Like his mentor, Kiyoshi Saito, a celebrated woodblock artist at the forefront of the sosaku hanga movement, Ohtsu paints the original pictures that serve as blueprints for his own hand-carved blocks, then inks the blocks and prints the images. His harmonious artworks forsake an earlier period’s use of strong outlines, instead relying on elemental colors and gentle shapes to depict an idealized view of the Japanese countryside.