Shigeki Kuroda (B.1953)

Kuroda is an exciting artist with a distinctive style and subject matter all his own. The works are readily recognizable, usually depicting blurred riders on bicycles, carrying umbrellas. Kuroda has been exploring this theme in a variety of ways, combining the sharp lines of drypoint etching with the softer tones and textures of aquatint, to create vivid prints. Although the figures remain similar in each work, the mood is altered by the backgrounds. In each, the artist gives the viewer a sense of the hurried speed of the cyclists, while exploring variations in line, color, texture, composition, mood, and the use of secondary imagery. He says the theme began as an exploration of the circle—horizontal in the umbrella or vertical in the wheel.