Ayaka Asano
The Sweetness Smelled One Spring
20x20 cm
Etching print with hand coloured monotype
Edition of 10
2025
The Sweetness Smelled One Spring (2025) beautifully translates the sensory memory of a changing season. Inspired by the indescribable fragrance that signals the sudden arrival of spring, the piece captures a rush of past memories and a vague, hazy sense of happiness filling the body. To evoke this gentle atmosphere, Asano combines the meticulous, precise lines of traditional etching with the delicate touch of hand-coloured transparent watercolours.
Because of this hand-painted monotype process, the physical print is beautifully fragile. The sharp intaglio lines anchor the composition, whilst the washes of watercolour give the piece a soft, luminous quality, meaning each individual print in the edition possesses its own unique tonal variations.
