Asian Kanji - Penetrate by Seiran Chiba

One character in black ink, brushed so hard it nearly pushes off the edge of the sheet.

Kanji, Penetrate, is a contemporary work by Seiran Chiba, made in 2016. In Japanese calligraphy, or shodo, a single character is often written large so the speed, pressure and rhythm of the brush become the subject. Here the character for penetrate fills almost the whole paper in heavy, wet strokes, with dry-brush streaks where the ink thinned out mid-stroke. A sweeping diagonal tail finishes at the lower right. A column of signature runs beside it, with a square red seal at lower left. It is 13 inches wide and 19 high.

Exactly as direct as the word itself.