#sengaigibon

「天満宮」　渡唐天神図|“Tenmangū,” Sugawara no Michizane as Tenjin Traveling to China by Sengai Gibon, Asian Art

Medium: Hanging scroll; ink on paper

Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, 2015 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

by Sengai Gibon, Asian Art

Medium: Woodblock printed book; ink on paper

Purchase, Mary and James G. Wallach Foundation Gift, 2013 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

“Kite flying” Sengai-gibon was a monk of Edo era.

仙厓義梵「凧揚げ図」

Walter de Maria Triangle, Circle, Square, 1972  ::  Sengai Gibon The Circle, Triangle, and Square / The Universe, Edo period, early 19th century.

Philosopher D.T. Suzuki, who lectured at Columbia University, often cited the work of Japanese Zen monk Sengai Gibon (1750–1837), whose painting Circle, Triangle, and Square he saw as the embodiment of the universe. Suzuki interpreted Sengai’s three fundamental forms as geometries of formlessness and infinity, which underscored his own view of emptiness as the essence of Zen enlightenment. This scroll has fascinated people ever since. Rather than a single level of black or gray, the ink tones keep changing. The forms overlap just a bit, suggesting interconnections between these fundamental shapes.