Product Details

Limited edition print taken from an original painting by Kosuke Ajiro.

Limited edition of 25

Printed at our Fine Art Trade Guild printers in England, this Giclee reproduction of an original watercolour painting is printed on archival quality Aquarelle Rag paper (310gsm).

Authentication: signed, edition numbered & stamped.

UNFRAMED PRINT SIZE (EXCLUDING BORDER): 500 x 600mm / 50 x 60cm / 19.7 x 23.6 inches

UNFRAMED PRINT PAPER SIZE (INCLUDING 15mm BORDER): 530 x 630mm / 53 x 63cm / 20.9 x 24.8 inches

FRAMED PRINT SIZE: 638 x 738mm / 63.8 x 73.8cm / 25.1 x 29 inches

Frame options: Black wood with mount, white wood with mount, oak with mount, putty with mount

Please note: Our framers are recognised by the Fine Art Trade Guild for their quality because the custom frames have tightly pinned corners, and are made from precision cut wood in England, made bespoke for each order. All our frames are glazed with our Clarity+ Perspex. It's cut from the highest quality acrylic sheet that's both crystal clear, but also safe and filters out 99% of UV light to protect the artwork.

Read more about our FRAMING WORKSHOP here

TAKE A TOUR - PRESS PLAY

STORY

Medieval scrolls, tapestries, frescoes, quilts, folk-lore and dreams are all cited as inspiration for the artist. To look into one of Ajiro-san’s paintings is to get lost within another world, one full of mandrakes, winged-cardinals, puppets, flowers, mysterious writings, kings, queens and knights, forest creatures and tree roots.

In the painting Prank (below) a swagged stage curtain unfolds to reveal a scene reminiscent of a Shakespearean farce. A wedding between a queen and a figure in a cloak disguised as a donkey-like creature is playing out as the trees with eyes bear witness to the happenings.

A similar scene in the work Sleepy where a moth-like creature with a crown made from a seedpod looks to be marrying a regal looking horned animal in gold cape, whilst a sleepy figure reclines in the clouds above.

Kosuke Ajiro’s work is full of mystery. There is a powdery quality to the work, dusty almost - as if from the pages of an ancient text and the figures and creatures have walked out from illuminated margins. The artist’s use of paper with age and texture adds to this atmosphere.

In the West Queen a figure in a ruff and tiara is disguised and hidden under a hat made from a creature. A cape of protection as she ventures out perhaps, fragments of ancient text collaged onto the painting reveal something we don't quite understand, yet the expression is of someone who knows their fate and is about to venture through the forest. Are the the figures along the bottom, painted like cave markings, a memory or dream of a feast, somewhere she longs to be or is going?

The large painting Mythology (below) is almost one metre in length and feels scroll-like. It contains a fascinating scene that appears to be held at a royal court where gifts and wreaths are being brought to the queen, onlookers and guests surround the sides of the painting. Creatures with forked tongues and ears wear gowns covered in fleur de lys.

Based in Tokyo, Kosuke Aijro is celebrated in Japan for his fascinating work, with several important solo exhibitions and publications in Japanese, we are delighted to make his work available to a wider audience.

Our immediate response to seeing Ajiro’s work for the first time was one of complete fascination. At once they recalled characters from an Angela Carter novel, ancient Herbals and alchemists’ books and illuminated mediaeval manuscripts such as this example (above) from 1500.

The twelve paintings are new works created exclusively for The Shop Floor Project.

The back of each painting is signed in sepia ink.