In this painting, Robert Richter presents the viewer with a still life of a massive Swiss cheese plant leaf emerging from a small ceramic jug. Though the leaf is a common tropical houseplant and the jug seems to recall American folk pottery, the asymmetrical composition suggests Japanese Ikebana floral arrangements. Also, instead of depicting the leaf in a landscape or against a recognizable background, the still life stands against a blank white space. This sense of space and choice of subject shows how Richter draws from the compositions of Japanese woodcut prints. This is particularly fitting given the relationship between the traditional carving techniques for woodcut print blocks and the carving of the present artwork. 

48 x 36 inches, painting
55 x 43 inches, frame
Titled, dated, signed in pencil and stamped with initial on verso
Housed in a frame of the artist's design and construction