As opposed to his previous series of paintings, where his titles were the combined result of spiritual inspiration and deep, intellectual, historical reflection, Shiraga created the Nature series without preliminary calculation, titling his works after the natural phenomena that they resembled once completed. 'Furuyuki' translates to Falling Snow.
The restricted use of colour, limited to blue and white paint, is typical of Shiraga's later works. After dedicating several years of his life exclusively to the study of esoteric Buddhism, beginning in 1971, Shiraga returned to painting with a renewed expressive power. The second half of his artistic life saw a profusion of paintings with a narrower palette, predominantly featuring blue, white, red, and black, as in 'Furuyuki' represented here.
Despite its clarity and comparatively luminous appearance, 'Furuyuki' remains exemplary of Shiraga's practice of "foot painting," which he would continue to pursue throughout his life.
