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Edutainment > Articles on Art > Contemporary Art Japan > Contemporary Japanese Prints

Japanese printmaking started in the 17th century. It has become one of the most appreciated art forms the world has ever seen. Over a period of several centuries Japanese prints have seen many different styles, revitalizations, changes and new developments. There have been commercial ups and downs and twists, but each period had great achievements of its own and great artists who produced fascinating works. There has been and is no ending to this in sight.

Contemporary Japanese prints are a very lively and vibrant section in modern Japanese culture. There is a great number of excellent artists working in Japanese style. Some are big stars - well-known to an International audience like Tsuruya Kokei or Clifton Karhu. Their prints are in the collections of museums in New York, San Francisco or Boston. Others are emerging and many are still unknown.

Do not be surprised to find several artists born in Europe or in the United States in a list of contemporary Japanese art. It has always been like that since the beginning of the 20th century. Artists like Elizabeth Keith or Paul Jacoulet paved the way.

On this page artelino introduces a few contemporary Japanese print artists that we like. This list is by no means a selection by importance and it is only a small sample - meant to make you curious.

Clifton Karhu - born 1927

contemporary Japanese prints

Machiya - Houses in Town
by Clifton Karhu, copyright Clifton Karhu

Clifton Karhu was born in Duluth, Minnesota in 1927. He went to Japan for the first time in 1946 as a soldier of the US occupation force. In 1952 he came back as a missionary of the Lutheran Church. Disillusioned he resigned as a missionary in 1958 and returned to the arts which he had studied at the Minneapolis Art School from 1950 to 1952. Clifton Karhu had a very tough time at the beginning of his career as a contemporary Japanese artist. But he made it.

Clifton Karhu has had numerous exhibitions in Japan, the U.S. and Europe. Today his prints are represented in major public museum collections like the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Harvard University and the Kunstmuseum in Salzburg.

Clifton Karhu lives most of his time in Kyoto, the old Imperial residence. He is the head of the Kyoto branch of the Japan Print Society.

Contemporary Japanese print art by Clifton Karhu is available every now and then in our monthly Japanese Print Auction.

David Stones - born 1945

contemporary Japanese prints

Kanaya Moon
by David Stones, copyright David Stones

David Stones was born in England where he attended Lincoln College of Art studying printing and design. He visited Japan in 1971, came back in 1972 and has lived there ever since. He became a student of the great print master Tomikichiro Tokuriki of Kyoto.

David Stones works in sosaku hanga style. He does the complete process of creating a print himself. For the blocks only wood from cherry, magnolia and katsura trees is used. David Stones uses only hand-made Japanese washi paper.

The prints by David Stones are small-sized. The subjects come from what he sees around him - old farm houses, traditional architecture or an old factory wall at night lit by a warm light coming from an old lamp. The artist and his Japanese wife Akiko live in an old renovated farmhouse in a rural area near Okazaki in Aichi Prefecture.

Paul Binnie - born 1967

contemporary Japanese prints

Ichikawa Danshiro in Gohiikikanjincho
by Paul Binnie, copyright Paul Binnie

Paul Binnie is an incredibly talented young artist who combines creativity with superb craftsmanship. He was born in Alloa, Scotland and studied fine art at the University of Edinburgh and Edinburgh College of Art, graduating with an M.A. (Hons) in 1990.  Paul Binnie came to Tokyo in 1993, where he lived for nearly six years learning the business of woodblock design, carving and printing.

During his Tokyo years Paul Binnie created a series of prints with designs of Kabuki scenes and a series of oil paintings of the Noh theater.

Paul is now back in England where he lives in Wimbledon, London. His artistic focus then turned to a series of landscapes and cloud prints.

By the time when this article was published (June 2002), Paul Binnie is planning a new woodblock series Famous sites of Japan - using the materials, paper and techniques of his Japan-produced prints. artelino will keep you informed about this project.

Tsuruya Kokei - born 1946

contemporary Japanese prints

by Tsuruya Kokei
copyright Tsuruya Kokei

Tsuruya Kokei is one of the best known names of the Japanese contemporary artists. Although he comes from a family of artists, Tsuruya Kokei never had any formal art training and he was a late starter. He was already 32 years old when he made his first woodblock print - a portrait of a contemporary kabuki actor.

Tsuruya Kokei works in a style that looks like a synthesis of an original Sharaku and a caricature - enriched with a flavor of subtle irony and humor. The prints by Tsuruya Kokei never look boring or trivial or repetitive or like a Sharaku copy. Each print is fascinating. Tsuruya Kokei not only designs, but also carves and prints himself. Each print is published in a small edition.

At the end of 2000 Tsuruya Kokei retired from woodblock prints for a very sad personal reason. He announced that he would never make another actor woodblock print again. Let us hope that the artist is going to change his mind.

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Contemporary Art Japan