Inspired by books on Asian art depicting Buddha, Bodhisattva, Quan Yin and other deities, and his wife Kate’s interest in the emerging Baha’i faith (Baha’i opposes war and embraces all of the major spiritual teachings), John Kelly created several detailed and technically difficult Bodhisattva etchings near the end of his life, in the late 1950s. This “Asian period” is probably the least well-known of John’s work, but the results were particularly spectacular, as he brought all the experience of his art career to bear on these subjects.
These five images are a selection of John's Bodhisattva series. The level of detail is particularly spectacular and frankly difficult to imagine that they went through multiple passes on his press.
For more information on the evolution of John Kelly’s technique, see the “Evolution of Technique” page.