Album of Sketches

Minol Araki met his future mentor Zhang Daqian by chance in the summer of 1973 in Taipei, Taiwan, not long after Zhang, who was known for his paintings of lotuses, relocated to the city. Their chance encounter initiated a decade-long relationship, until Zhang’s death in 1983, during which time Zhang served as a mentor to Araki, took him to see old Chinese paintings, including several in Zhang’s own collection, and provided feedback on Araki’s work. Araki was inspired by the works of Chinese artists, past and present. In addition to working with Zhang Daqian, who served as Araki’s mentor, he took inspiration from Muqi Fachang, a thirteenth-century Chinese Zen priest. In this album, Araki sketched a variation of Muqi’s iconic painting of persimmons. In Araki’s version, Muqi’s Six Persimmons is reduced to five, but the boneless technique of depicting the persimmons with splashes of inkwash remain the same.