Fraenkel Gallery, in collaboration with Lisson Gallery, is pleased to present Mt. Fuji, Hiroshi Sugimoto’s classically-inspired Japanese folding screen featuring the artist’s depiction of the sacred mountain at first light. Printed on washi—a traditionally handmade paper used in the fabrication of origami and ritual utensils of Shinto priests—the screen evokes the quiet power and presence of traditional Japanese ink paintings and ukiyo-e woodblock prints. The artwork belongs to a new series depicting Japanese landmarks of spiritual significance, integrating photographic techniques and materials with traditional artforms.
An intermittently active volcano, Mt. Fuji’s appearance has changed over time, a fact that has fascinated Sugimoto. “I would like to trace the evolution of the mountain’s appearance,” he has written. In the photographic view he created for the screen, Sugimoto pictures the distant mountain from a significant elevation, perhaps suggesting the presence of Mt. Hakone, a nearby volcano that erupted and collapsed close to 200,000 years ago. Sugimoto once wrote about an imagined ancient view of both peaks: “Two rivals in height—what a magnificent sight that must have been!” In his dark and mist-filled rendering, Sugimoto’s photograph could be mistaken for a view from the dawn of time.
The panoramic landscape also belongs to a long line of art historical depictions of Mt. Fuji, the country’s tallest peak. The mountain has served as a national symbol of Japan, and its image has been incorporated into a range of Buddhist and Shinto artworks.
Mt. Fuji appears in Japanese pilgrimage mandalas, or sankei mandara—stylized scroll paintings that depict the landscapes surrounding shrines and temples. The paintings portray the historical and mythical events that took place in these locations, conveying the spiritual importance of the sites while also serving as travel guides for pilgrims. A 16th century example from Fujisan Hongū Sengen Taisha, a Shintō shrine in the city of Fujinomiya, shows Mt. Fuji rising between the sun and the moon.
Perhaps the most famous images are the ukiyo-e artist Hokusai’s 19th century woodblock print series, 36 views of Mount Fuji, depicting the mountain from different locations and in various seasons and weather conditions. Like Sugimoto’s Mt. Fuji, Hokusai’s South Wind, Clear Sky, also known as Red Fuji, captures the red glow of dawn and the spread of pine forests.
A repeating pattern stamped on the screen’s verso features a stylized image of Mt. Fuji, echoing Hokusai’s Red Fuji. Sugimoto worked with a woodblock printer in Tokyo to create and execute the prints on the verso of the screens, using a custom pattern for each. In its simplified circular shape, the Mt. Fuji pattern recalls kamon, or mon, the Japanese heraldic designs that serve as symbols for family lines or institutions. Like the materials of the screen itself, the designs draw from a rich history of Japanese artistic production.
