Northern Print presented the first UK exhibition of new works by Japanese artist Fusako Yoshikawa since 2010.

Fusako Yoshikawa was born in 1941 in Nagoya and continues to live and work there, having studied at Aichi Prefectural Asahigaoka Senior High School in the city. Her early career was as a designer for Tokai Television Broadcasting Company which she left to focus on raising her family.

In 1980, Fusako began making woodblock prints under the tuition of KanjI Suzuki and Koji Narita, members of Kokugakai Art Group founded in Kyoto in 1926 with the principle that every artist should have complete freedom of expression.

Exhibition

Fusako Yoshikawa Exhibition (3)

Fusako Yoshikawa Exhibition (2)

Fusako Yoshikawa Exhibition (4)

Fusako Yoshikawa Exhibition (1)

"When I touch trees and paper, I feel very happy.
I like to create shapes in wood blocks with cutting knives.

While I am cutting, small pieces of wood scatter and form a new shape. That shape gives me a clue about my next work" - Fusako Yoshikawa

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Fusako has continued to develop her work using traditional Japanese materials, tools and skills to make her prints. Each one is carefully cut by hand from a woodblock or in many cases multiple blocks. The translucent water-based inks are then brushed onto the block and printed using a handheld bamboo baren. It is only the pressure of her hand that transfers the ink onto the paper, and for each coloured shape a separate block is cut and printed – building up her rich images. Most of the prints in the exhibition are printed in very small editions – perhaps only five copies being printed.