This exhibition showcases over sixty works from the Gallery’s collection of Japanese prints created after 1950. It highlights the ongoing importance of the printmaking tradition in Japan, where artists continue to draw from centuries-old techniques and imagery, while innovating and experimenting with new forms and technologies.
‘Hanga: Modern Japanese prints’ features works by some of the leading Japanese printmakers over the past sixty years. These include some of the main proponents of thesosaku-hanga (creative print) movement, Kiyoshi Saito and Kawano Kauro, who developed processes that diverged from the ukiyo-e and later shin-hanga (new print) traditions, as well as artists who found fresh ways to reconfigure traditional imagery and modes of production. Experiments with abstraction and graphic design are also featured, which broadened the established minimalist palette to embrace bold colours and compositions in a range of internationally influenced styles.
The exhibition also includes works by artists who have become important figures in the broader context of contemporary art. Prints by Masami Teraoka, Lee Ufan, Ay-O, Tadanori Yokoo and Tōkō Shinoda provide examples of practices that crossed genres and had great influence outside Japan.
Capturing a range of methods and techniques, ‘Hanga: Modern Japanese prints from the Collection’ celebrates the rich colours, subtle textures and refined designs of an art form that continues to hold an important place in Japanese art, and demonstrates why Japan is a world leader in the innovation of the printmaking medium.
Image: Kiyoshi Saito, Japan 1907-97 / Temple and persimmon tree c.1969 / Colour woodblock print on paper
