PHOTOS FROM THE TOSHIO SAEKI EXHIBIT

As I blogged earlier this month, San Francisco is playing host to a rare exhibit of the works of famed erotic artist, Toshio Saeki! My girlfriend and I were running errands on Saturday nearby 111 Minna Gallery, and decided to stop by and check it out!



The show took advantage of the large space (where previous magazine release parties, Last Gasp shows, etc have been hosted), and featured a mixture of Saeki's original inked B&W drawings, his color guides for the printmaker he works with, and a number of lush chinto prints in various sizes. For folks in the area, you have until November 27 to see the exhibit, and I strongly encourage any fans of the perverted and elegant to stop by!

Without further ado, here are my photos and notes from the exhibit!




Mood lighting... we were the only folks during a rainstorm and got to check the entire exhibit out in peace.


Color prints lined both rooms of the exhibit, in Saeki's signature style. These pieces are created in collaboration by Saeki in collaboration with a print-maker via his "semi-traditional" offsent print technique. These were full color prints in his most distinct style, and each is one of an edition of 75.


As much as I like Saeki's normal work, which reproduces really well on glossy paper and as big posters, I was most excited about these more subtle and elegant prints on washi with a slight grain and imperfections. Though these are each chinto offset prints, each one is only printed in editions of one (!) making each one of them "unique".






An original color guide by Saeki, used by the printer per his instructions in the collaborative process of creating the actual print.


Ghost grandma does not approve.


Lush colors and balance, achieved via CMYK-esque color separations dictated by Saeki.


The other room of the exhibit.


Also on display were a few original ink drawings (on the right), selling for around $5K each!


We stared at these for a long while-- some of my favorites of the entire show! The middle one was so damn impressive (but sold already!), as well as the shakier lines of the upper-left print.


Every one of these full-color prints were sold when we visited, each one of an edition of 75.





Micah, the nice guy curating the gallery was cool enough to bring up additional prints that hadn't been displayed in the show. These were additional pieces (all 1 of an edition of 1) that they hadn't had room on the wall for but were available for sale. I decided I really wanted to get the following piece, and though my credit card is sad I will deal with it later after my next paycheck...


It didn't have a title, so the dude made one up for the invoice; "Dwarf on the road with 4-wheeled severed head". I think Saeki would approve.



(details)

Like I mentioned, local folks have just a few more days to check out this awesome show! Another high-five to 111 Minna Gallery and Last Gasp for putting this exciting exhibit together! Check out their site above for a full gallery of the prints/originals that were on the walls.