Kazuo Nakamura 1926 - 2002

Nakamura pushed forward several different series of concerns and paintings at the same time. He did 'string' paintings and simple 'rectangle' paintings in a pale mossy monochrome, large black and light blue block structures sitting on a vast plane, the deep blue X-ray-like 'structure' paintings that look the interiors of molecules and, late in his career, the incredibly complex 'number' paintings. However, these wonderfully faceted lake and forest landscapes are certainly among his most admired, and possibly the easiest to love. In each one, Nakamura has carefully structured every inch of the canvas to create a shimmering, unbroken, faultless arrangement, using several greens or aqua-greens to create both an illusion and a reality.

This painting, an early one, is larger than most, a characteristic that displays the absolute concentration Nakamura had to bring to bear in the execution of the work; that fact only amplifies the magnitude of his accomplishment. However, the qualities of restraint and understatement, while presenting a strong aesthetic statement, are what sets Nakamura apart from his colleagues in Painters Eleven. Almost without exception the works by other members of this historic group were exuberant, wildly colourful, and unrestrained, the very antithesis of Nakamura's whole approach to art.