Ono Tadashige
1966
Donated by the artist
Ono Tadashige (1909–1990) was a political activist, publisher, and woodblock print artist prominent in the sōsaku-hanga movement. Born in Tokyo, he first exhibited at the Second Exhibition of Proletarian Art. In 1932, he founded the Shin Hanga Shudan (later the Zōkei Hanga Kyōkai), and then the publishing house Sōrinsha in 1941. After WWII, he became a member of Nihon Bijutsukai, and in 1961 had his work featured in a modern print exhibition held in the USSR.
Ono’s early pre-WWII prints were deeply rooted in the social-critical movement of German expressionism and art trends dominating in Russia, as well as among critical intellectual circles in China Lu Xun. Throughout his career, he consistently depicted the life of regular people as well as landscapes, mainly in urban settings. With its black undertones and haunting images of urban decay, his works are distinct and memorable among his contemporaries. His prints were produced using a technique he developed: the ‘colour negative’ woodblock print method. One prints black ink first, then colours on top using white gouache, which accounts for Ono’s prints’ distinctive visual effects.