Saitō Kiyoshi: Graphic Awakening Opens March 14 at The Ringling

February 17, 2021 – Sarasota

The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art is pleased to present Saitō Kiyoshi: Graphic Awakening. The exhibition will open Mar 14, 2021 and run through Aug 15, 2021 in the Ringling’s Searing galleries. 

Comprised of recent donations of artworks by Saitō from Charles and Robyn Citrin to The Ringling and other collections, Saitō Kiyoshi: Graphic Awakening is the first comprehensive exhibition of this artist’s work in the United States. The exhibition focuses on prints Saitō created in the 1940s and 50s, arguably the most vibrant period of his career, and includes several rare, early designs. Saitō Kiyoshi’s (Japanese 1907–1997) keen sense of design, superb technique, and engagement with an appealing variety of themes made him one of the best known and most popular Japanese print artists of the twentieth century.

In the wake of the Second World War, Saitō emerged as a seminal figure of the modernist Creative Print movement, in which artists claimed complete authorship of their work by carving and printing their own designs. He flourished as the movement attracted patrons among members of the occupying forces and, later, Western travelers for business and pleasure. Honors at the 1951 São Paulo Biennial launched him and the Creative Print movement to prominence at home and abroad. When new diplomatic ties between the U.S. and Japan provided opportunities for Japanese artists to exhibit, teach, and live abroad, Saitō was among the first to do so, thus further broadening his audience. 

Dr. Rhiannon Paget, Curator of Asian Art said, “Visitors to the exhibition will see many of the imaginative designs that made Saitō Kiyoshi one of Japan’s most beloved printmakers, especially in the United States. Saitō’s corpus encompasses urban and natural landscapes, female subjects, theater, architecture, and cats that reveal his curious mind, sensitive eye, and playful sense of humor.”

The exhibition is accompanied by a 200-page illustrated catalogue edited by Rhiannon Paget and with essays by Paul Binnie, Noriko Kuwahara, Rhiannon Paget, and Judith A. Stubbs, and published by Scala. 

More information, including purchasing tickets and The Ringling’s response to Covid-19 can be found at ringling.org or by calling 941-359-5700.