Sea, Evening Calm

Inscriptions

Signed and dated, in graphite, lower right: Reika Iwami '64; inscribed, lower center: Sea, Evening Calm

Label

Amidst the deep, dark background, an oval-shaped object floats at the top of the image. It may be a fish leisurely swimming in the blue sea, revealing its silver scales and waving its long red tail. It may also be the horizon with white sky and blue ocean, a sun or moon floating above the water. 

There is no right way to interpret this print, as Iwami seeks only to inspire the viewer’s imagination about nature through her work. This pioneering female printmaker often adopted abstract motifs to represent things like the movement of water while making the space for the viewer to participate in the image.

From the 2024 exhibition Attitude of Coexistence: Non-Humans in East Asian Art, curated by Haely Chang, Jane and Raphael Bernstein Associate Curator of East Asian Art

Course History

Art History 63.02, Why Are Museums...?, Mary Coffey, Spring 2026

Asian Societies, Cultures, and Languages 51.11, Religion 2.02, Religions of Vietnam, Sara Swenson, Winter 2025

Exhibition History

Attitude of Coexistence: Non-humans in East Asian Art, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, February 26-June 29, 2025.

Provenance

International Graphic Arts Society, Inc., New York; sold to present collection, 1964.

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Subjects