Yves Millet and the Poetics of Shikishi

French painter and pastel artist Yves Millet has long been inspired by the delicate balance between abstraction and evocation. His recent series of works on Japanese shikishi boards continues this exploration, offering a unique dialogue between European pastel traditions and East Asian aesthetics.

Seascape I by Yves Millet. Pastel on Japanese shikishi art board.

What is a Shikishi?

Shikishi are traditional Japanese art boards made from layers of  washi paper mounted on a rigid backing and framed with a thin gold border. Historically, they were used for poetry, calligraphy, and painting, often exchanged as precious gifts. Today, they continue to serve as an intimate surface for both traditional and contemporary artists.

Pastel on Shikishi

Yves Millet reinterprets the shikishi format through his signature pastel technique. Layer by layer, he builds soft fields of colour—turquoise seas, glowing skies, fleeting clouds—that suggest natural elements without fully describing them. This restraint reflects his deep connection to East Asian aesthetics, where empty space and suggestion are as meaningful as form.

In his hands, the shikishi becomes not just a support, but a stage for meditative compositions. Each work invites the viewer to contemplate light, colour, and atmosphere as they shift across the horizon.

A Dialogue Between Cultures

Yves Millet’s choice of shikishi links his work to the centuries-old Japanese tradition while reimagining it within a contemporary, cross-cultural practice. The almost square format encourages balance and rhythm, while the gold trim recalls the elegance of classical Japanese painting. By bringing pastel—a medium deeply rooted in European art—onto this surface, he creates a fusion of East and West, where poetic suggestion and chromatic intensity meet.

A Series of Seascapes

In his Seascape series, Millet captures the sea and sky in constant transformation. Bright oranges, deep turquoises, and soft violets emerge as evocations of dawn, dusk, or storm. The works are not literal landscapes but rather atmospheric meditations, moments of shifting light held within the compact frame of the shikishi.

Collecting Yves Millet’s Shikishi Works

For collectors, Yves Millet’s shikishi paintings represent a rare meeting of tradition and innovation. They carry the intimacy of the format—small, refined, and precious—while also offering the expansive vision of the artist’s practice. Each piece is both a work of fine art and a contemporary reinterpretation of one of Japan’s most enduring artistic supports.

Seascape III – Pastel on Shikishi by Yves Millet

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