Catching the Lightning PF - No.2 [from "Catching the Lightning"] 稲妻捕り(2)［『稲妻捕り』より］

Which is the more important clue to us, between color and form, when we try to grasp the world before us? Mitsuo Kano says that, with himself, it is not the usual "form first, then color," but "color, before everything else." Certainly, in his works of the "Capturing Lightnings" series, including this one, the colors do not stay still inside the forms which would usually be their containers, but flow and shift freely. These expanses of colors collide sharply with the images that appear in forms, and ultimately dominate the whole picture with their overwhelming power. This drama of colors, created by the repulsion between water and oil during the lithographic process, is captured by the artist with superb deftness onto paper.
Kano started as a copperplate engraver without any formal education in art, and mastered diverse techniques through self-education. This has enabled him to have ideas that go beyond the traditional approaches, and in turn, the need to turn these ideas into actual expression has driven him to invent new techniques and even new color materials. His incessant experiment and innovation started in earnest in this "Capturing Lightnings" series of 1977 as he dived boldly into his explorations in color.