Hokusai Exhibit @ Sackler Gallery

I've never been as excited about an art exhibit as I am to see the Hokusai exhibit that's opening this weekend at the Sackler Gallery. I can't remember being this pumped about an "art outing" since my first visit to the Gugenheim Museum in NYC (although I was going more for the architecture of the building than the art inside). Architectue has always appealed to me more than oil on canvas, but there's something about Hokusai's "Great Wave Off Kanagawa" (see above) that i've always been drawn to.

I love any art involving sea life and the ocean and what I like about the "Great Wave" is the mix of rich blue color along with the almost cartoon - like quality of the scene. I have a poster of "Great Wave" hanging in my room, but I can't wait to get a closer look at the original. I didn't realize that Hokusai's career spans almost 70 years and that his art is more recognized in the West than in his native Japan. Also, he used woodcut relief (the oldest form of printmaking) to create many of his works - I had no idea! More to follow on the exhibit after I actually see it!!!