Landscapes in Wood and Ink

Note from the Curator

"Sumi" is the Japanese word for charcoal and for the ink made from finely powdered charcoal or pine soot, glue, and water. The ink is traditionally used for brush writing, but an important artistic tradition evolved of using brush and ink to create beautiful, often spare and restrained paintings. Although color is sometimes used to enhance the images, the heart of Sumi painting is an economy of means that allows it-like other traditional Japanese arts such as haiku poetry, ikebana flower arranging, and bonsai living landscapes-to communicate the most complex ideas and emotions in elegant simplicity. Since Sumi is made from the wood of trees, there seems a particular kinship between Sumi-e, or Sumi paintings, and bonsai.

I am delighted that we have the opportunity in this series of exhibits to offer our visitors inspired works by members of the Puget Sound Sumi Artists. I hope everyone will find pleasure in entering the world these artists have created in their work, and I thank the members and leadership of the PSSA for sharing their work with us.

David De Groot, Curator