Takeshi Hara was born in Nagoya in 1942. He attended Tokyo University of Fine Arts, from which he graduated 1967 with a B.A. in painting. Two years later, he received a M.A. in painting. At this point, he began using the go, or artist name, “Ken.” During his time at university, Hara became increasingly adverse to Western methods and styles and gravitated to the print medium. He experimented with lacquer-painted irregular canvases and spray guns filled with paint before turning to printmaking. The lithograph allows him to achieve an incredible smoothness of color