YUKIO KATSUDA Japanese, Born 1941 No. 136: Persimmon Tree and Thatched Roof, 1981 Woodcut print Detailed print depicting a steeply pitched, moss-covered thatched roof of a traditional Japanese farmhouse, with a persimmon branch heavy with ripe orange fruit draping across the eave. Rendered in a textured, pointillist technique with earthy greens, browns, and ochres punctuated by the vivid red-orange of the persimmons, the composition captures a quiet, rustic corner of rural Japan. Pencil-numbered 90/100 and inscribed "No. 136" in the lower margin, signed and dated "Katsuda '81" lower right. Framed. Not examined out of frame. 21.5 x 12 inches; frame: 28 x 18.5 inches $200-300
ARTIST PROFILE: Yukio Katsuda (Japanese, b. 1941). Born in Kyoto in 1941, Yukio Katsuda is a contemporary printmaker known for his silkscreen prints, with work that often focuses on natural scenes rendered in rich color and nearly tangible texture. Active in the medium of serigraphy since the 1960s, Katsuda typically leaves his prints untitled aside from a number denoting their chronological sequence, though framed works often carry a separate paper label with a conventional title in Japanese on the verso. His prints are frequently heavily inked, giving them a distinctive, almost three-dimensional quality, and his major subjects include birds along with flowers, plants, and landscapes. His work is held in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.
