In the manner of Katsushika Hokusai
Japanese, 1760–1849
Kite Festival with Drones, 2026
Woodblock print
26 × 39 cm
Never painted.
Commissioned for the collection, 2026.
PAB 2026.5.5
← Snow at the Charging Station Wanderer above the Sea of Notifications →
Kites fill the sky, a carp, a crest, a hundred diamonds, and among them small black drones have got themselves caught in the strings. On the riverbank, figures lean back and pull. A stadium sits in the distance with a small mountain beyond it. Hokusai drew kites and flying things all his long life with a boy's delight. Nobody has told the drones they are not kites.
The brief
Dozens of kites and small drones tangled in a stylised gust above a riverbank, tiny figures pulling strings, a distant stadium. Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock print, flat areas of Prussian blue, indigo, ochre and pale cream, bold outlined forms, stylised curling waves and clouds, a small distant landmark anchoring the composition, dramatic foreground movement, visible wood grain and slight registration offset, rice paper texture. Museum photograph of the print on paper, flat even lighting, no frame, no text, no wall, no floor, cropped to the edge of the sheet.
Written to the house rules. The painter's name does not appear.
Take it home
The painting on this room's wall, at its own proportions, nothing written on it.
