A circle and lines in red ochre stand out on a black background. From the early to mid-1950s, when this work was created, Yamaguchi Takeo almost exclusively used black and red, or black and ochre, in his paintings. From works like this, in which either the red or ochre forms a figure on a black background, the red or ochre gradually started to take over the canvas, as in Locus. Born in 1902 in Hanseong (later Gyeongseong, now Seoul), Yamaguchi made the Korean Peninsula his base for over 40 years before he returned to Japan after the war. This period almost coincided with the Japanese occupation of Korea. Yamaguchi described the reddish earth color to which he was attracted his whole life as the "color of Korea," where he was born and raised.
(HIBINO Miyon)
A circle and lines in red ochre stand out on a black background. From the early to mid-1950s, when this work was created, Yamaguchi Takeo almost exclusively used black and red, or black and ochre, in his paintings. From works like this, in which either the red or ochre forms a figure on a black background, the red or ochre gradually started to take over the canvas, as in Locus. Born in 1902 in Hanseong (later Gyeongseong, now Seoul), Yamaguchi made the Korean Peninsula his base for over 40 years before he returned to Japan after the war. This period almost coincided with the Japanese occupation of Korea. Yamaguchi described the reddish earth color to which he was attracted his whole life as the "color of Korea," where he was born and raised.
(HIBINO Miyon)