Ay-Ō Happy Rainbow Hell - Signed Edition

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Description

This kaleidoscopic catalog celebrates avant-garde artist Ay-Ō's first major museum exhibition in the United States. Known as the "Rainbow Artist" for the prominent bright motif in his work, Ay-Ō has long referred to this compulsion as his "rainbow hell." Ay-Ō Happy Rainbow Hell invites readers into the vibrant world of his brilliant art, mind, and imagination, featuring artwork from the first major U.S. museum exhibition devoted to his work.

Ay-Ō Happy Rainbow Hell presents approximately 140 gorgeous illustrations from the Smithsonian's Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, home to the largest U.S. collection of Ay-Ō's silkscreen prints, and loans from other U.S. institutions along with enlightening catalog entries to better appreciate each piece. The book includes an essay from Kit Brooks, the Japan Foundation Assistant Curator of Japanese Art, that provides a biography of Ay-Ō; an illustrated essay from Ay-Ō's longtime printer Sukeda Kenryō; and a message from the artist Ay-Ō himself.

Printed on heavy 100# paper and in 7 colors (with added green, orange, and metallic gold inks, plus 2 spot colors and spot varnish) to achieve Ay-Ō's vibrant color palette, the book is its own stunning art object. The dustjacket, printed and silkscreened on uncoated, felted art board, is die-cut to reveal the rainbow-printed caseside.

Museum Story

The National Museum of Asian Art is a global resource for understanding Asian arts, cultures, and societies and their intersection with the United States. Opened in 1923 as the country's first national art museum, it now stewards one of the world's best collections of Asian art, which date from antiquity to the present, from China, Japan, Korea, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Ancient Near East, and the Islamic world (including Central Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa). The museum also holds an important array of 19th- and early 20th-century American art of the Aesthetic Movement.