Details

The flatfish presents a unique challenge to the artist. Its compressed body and asymmetrical anatomy differ dramatically from the conventional fish form, requiring a fundamentally different compositional approach. Ohno responds with remarkable ingenuity, emphasizing the species' distinctive silhouette and unusual placement of the eyes. The broad shape spreads across the picture surface like an abstract pattern, creating immediate visual interest.

Color is handled with exceptional subtlety. Soft browns, grays, and muted ochres evoke the fish's camouflage adaptations while preserving the overall harmony of the design. Delicate tonal transitions enhance the impression of depth without sacrificing the graphic strength of the composition.

Connoisseur's Note

Among the many species represented in Familiar Fishes of Japan, the flounder perhaps best illustrates Ohno's ability to discover beauty in unconventional forms. Its unusual anatomy might easily have been treated as a curiosity, yet the artist approaches it with the same seriousness and aesthetic sensitivity granted to more celebrated subjects.

The resulting image reveals an important aspect of Japanese artistic thought: the recognition that beauty can emerge from irregularity as readily as from symmetry. In this sense, the print resonates with broader aesthetic traditions that find value in individuality, adaptation, and unexpected forms. It is a fitting conclusion to the first twenty works in the exhibition, demonstrating the remarkable breadth of Ohno's artistic vision.