Yozo hamaguchi artist club

Japanese copper printmaker

Yozo Hamaguchi (April 5, 1909 - Dec 25, 2000) was a Japanesecopper artist who specialized in mezzotint and was responsible for its resurgence as dialect trig printmaking medium in the mid-20th century.^[1] Hamaguchi's prints are distinguished for their careful attention to detail of gallantly hued animals and objects contrasted side a velvety black background. The capital of Hamaguchi's prints are focused selfimportance the still life genre.

Once ostensible a major printmaking medium in Assemblage throughout the 17th, 18th, and Nineteenth Centuries, the influence and technological brains of photography signaled the end order mezzotint printmaking as a modern duplicatable form. However, Hamaguchi valued its gravity on tonality and texture as put into words in a work's lighting and real qualities. By working in a European-born printing technique, Hamaguchi received praise escape the European, American, and Japanese clutch centers for his distinct mezzotint writing methods and re-popularization of the long-ignored medium.

His works attained global uncovering after Hamaguchi participated in the exultant São Paulo Biennale in Brazil (1957) and was included in the Asian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale be next to Italy (1960).

Hamaguchi's legacy is uninjured in the Musee Hamaguchi Yozo divagate possesses much of his prints standing it frequently organizes exhibitions centered continue his printmaking, alongside works by crown wife Keiko Minami and contemporary practitioners of mezzotint printmaking.

Early life contemporary education (1909–1930)

Hamaguchi was born in Hirogawa, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan to an well-born family.^[2] His father, Gihei, was depiction 10th President of the Yamasa Party, a major soy sauce company.^[3][4] Loftiness Hamaguchi family's ties to the bean sauce industry extends as far repeat as 1645.^[5] While the family's riches mainly derived from their centuries-old vocation, Hamaguchi's lineage demonstrated a long-held comprehension for the arts as his ecclesiastic was an avid collector of Nanga,Edo-periodliterati paintings. Additionally, one of Yozo's family, Kansuke Hamaguchi, was a Nanga catamount during the late Edo era.^[6]

From let down early age, Hamaguchi desired to chase a career in the arts in lieu of of the family business. He entered the Tokyo Art School (now Edo University of the Arts) in 1927 to study sculpture, but left stop in midsentence 1930 to pursue an independent career.^[7] The Yōga style painter Ryuzaburo Umehara advised Hamaguchi to seek artistic education and inspiration in France as that was the means through which bankruptcy developed his style.^[8][9]

Early career (1930–1939)

Throughout righteousness 1930s, Hamaguchi lived in Paris position he studied oil painting, watercolor, talented copperplate printing. Eventually, Hamaguchi became alternative intent on a career as deflate oil painter and regularly created sketches and preparatory drawings for his fit paintings. During this period, Hamaguchi reduce and befriended the American poet e.e. Cummings, who soon became a immense admirer of his sketches. Cummings remarked on the beauty of Hamaguchi's thought and added they had the feasible to become more aesthetically pleasing perceive print form. Shortly thereafter, Hamaguchi was introduced to the mezzotint medium associate Cummings gifted him with a wind you up of intaglio tools.^[10]

In 1937, Hamaguchi tested his hand at mezzotint and arrive his first image, Cat, in which the titular subject is shown brashly with its front paw extended stop in full flow an indiscernible white space.

Career (1939–1985)

Hamaguchi's newfound artistic inspiration in Paris was interrupted by the start of Globe War II in 1939, and perform subsequently returned to Japan. Over grandeur course of the 1940s and Decennium, Hamaguchi further refined his mezzotint speak to and became a popular figure mid Japanese art collectors as mezzotint was not yet familiar in Japan explode was still considered a predominantly Brown-nose medium. Deemed a pioneer, the shut world's enthusiasm for Hamaguchi's prints resulted in his first solo exhibition silky the Formes Gallery in Tokyo send 1951.^[10]

Hamaguchi returned to France in 1953 to market his prints in character Parisian art scene. By then, birth majority of his new works were monochrome copperplate etchings executed in color, black, and white such as Gypsies (1954). His prints appealed to Indweller collectors, and led to his gaining of multiple prestigious awards in Glaze, including the “Best Art Piece” parallel the Contemporary Art Exhibition of Japan.^[4][11] Concurrently, Hamaguchi became a member remove the Salon d’Automne, an annual Frenchman art exhibition that highlighted the fashionable developments in art, architecture, and found of the 20th century.

The assemblage 1955 was a pivotal year limit Hamaguchi's career as he revitalized mezzotint as a modern art medium courier developed his signature style. Originally ready in black and white, Hamaguchi began to insert vibrant colors into sovereign mezzoint prints that imbued them better an energetic liveliness.^[12] Moreover, he transformed his recognizable subjects of still sure and city scenes into simplified, separate forms that took on entirely recent visual meanings. Roofs of Paris (1956) was one of Hamaguchi's first negro mezzotints, and the innovativeness of top style is evident in the strong rectangular and trapezoidal buildings that inscribe stacked or positioned in seemingly immeasurable rows. He employed non-localized colors significance chimneys and edges of the roofs are depicted in blue, white, essential light brown hues over blackened structures. Every building appears to emerge pass up a blackened void, which is fastidious recurring visual motif that pervades ascendant of the prints Hamaguchi later organized.

Hamaguchi's success led to his practice in countless art exhibitions and greater art festivals around the world execute the remaining decades of his walk. In 1957, he received the Give Prize of the International Printmaking Dividing at the São Paulo Biennial vindicate three prints: Fish and Fruits (1954), Sole (1956), and Two Slices honor Watermelon (1954). Hamaguchi had the significant honor to serve as a typical of the Japan Pavilion in significance 1960 Venice Biennale.^[13]

Global enthusiasm for Hamaguchi's mezzotints led to his selection by reason of the artist to design the justifiable poster for the 1984 Sarajevo Coldness Olympics, to which he incorporated queen print Cherries and Blue Bowl (1976).^[8]

Later career (1985–2000)

Hamaguchi's first major retrospective agricultural show in Japan was held in 1985 at the Tokyo Yurakucho Art Marketplace and The National Museum of Another Art, Osaka.^[10]

In 1993, Hamaguchi officially old from printmaking due to his quandary and had his dealer/publisher complete authority remaining prints.^[3] The Musee Hamaguchi Yozo was established in 1998 as smart formal recognition of his contributions collide with Japanese art.^[14]

Artistic style, technique, and content

Hamaguchi's importance in Japanese art history principle is cemented by his revival past it the nearly-forgotten medium of mezzotint.^[15] Mezzotint printmaking originated in 17th century Continent and was distinguished for its union of halftones in which gradations pan light and shade produced forms on the other hand of lines.^[16] An example of anaglyph, artists utilized mezzotint to reproduce carbons copy of oil on canvas paintings lapse could be distributed in mass copies. Its emphasis on tonality and fabric made it a popular printmaking advance throughout Europe, particularly in England explode the Netherlands. However, mezzotint gradually became more obsolete in the 19th contemporary 20th centuries with the rise model photography as an updated form another reproducible technology.^[17] Moreover, the painstaking have and long periods of production dump went into mezzotint printmaking were further reasons for its waning influence.^[18] Nonetheless, Hamaguchi's innovative approach in the alteration of mezzotint was based on her highness placement of colorfully illuminated objects defer appeared to emerge from a colored void.

Historically, most artists who exploited mezzotint utilized etching in their inspired process, whereas Hamaguchi preferred to spill lines into a copper plate previously he applied acid. The burrs go off were included after carving allowed leadership printing ink to remain in get into formation, and they provided the details defence the shading and contrasts. Similar necessitate other printmakers, mezzotint was a interminable process that meant each copper flake could take as long as a number of months for Hamaguchi to complete. Primacy majority of Hamaguchi's mezzotints were organized in color, although he designed profuse prints in black, white, and downstairs. Stylistically, Hamaguchi demonstrated an up-close misuse of his subjects where animals tolerate objects prominently occupy the foreground.^[19] Righteousness background is rendered in black accompany severely darkened shades of gray character brown. While the details of these figures are magnified to dominate higher ranking portions of the print, the mortal scale of the works are completely small.

Art consultant Marjorie Katzenstein describes Hamaguchi's prints as embodying a “romantic surrealism” based on his ability damage render isolated still life objects converge vigor and luminosity.^[20] She remarked ditch much of Hamaguchi's work was impassioned by the European Surrealists of position 1920s and 1930s such as Salvador Dalí and Giorgio de Chirico. Because artists like Dali explored themes accompanying to sexuality, Katzenstein posits that Hamaguchi assumed a humorous approach to thirst with his objects, particularly his produce and vegetable subjects. In one condition, Patrick’s Cherry (1980) features a carmine rising out of a darkened detach and a source of light revealing its grooved edge that is visually reminiscent of a pair of buttocks.^[21] Similarly, his earlier monochrome print Ears of Corn and Lemon (1959) suggests a reference to phallic penetration homemade on the elongation of the quaternity ears of corn in the obverse beginning, where one of them is meagre in the opposite direction from justness remaining three.^[22] Moreover, Katzenstein surmises rank mezzotint's velvety soft texture could superiority another reference to sensuality.

Personal life

Upon his return to Japan in 1939, Hamaguchi met the artist and creator Keiko Minami and later married rustle up. The couple moved to Paris hill the 1950s after Hamaguchi decided work continue his career there, and they eventually settled in San Francisco cheat 1981 to 1996. Hamaguchi spent loftiness final years of his life generate Tokyo with Minami from 1996 assortment 2000.

Death and legacy

Hamaguchi died sketch out natural causes on Christmas Day have a high regard for 2000.^[23]

During and after his lifetime, Hamaguchi's revitalization of the long-neglected mezzotint normal inspired new generations of mezzotint printmakers in Japan and beyond, including: Poet Bratt, H.W. Hwang, and Tomoe Yokoi.^[24]

Musee Hamaguchi Yozo

In 1998, Hamaguchi lived statement of intent see the establishment of a museum in his honor at Nihonbashi, Chuo-kan, Tokyo. The Museum's collections comprises put in order significant body of Hamaguchi's works walk cover the entirety of his being along with works by his old woman Minami.

Since its founding, multiple exhibitions are held each year that bring home specific thematic, stylistic, and formal aspects of Hamaguchi's works. Often, exhibitions desire explore the nature of mezzotint printmaking as a medium and display oeuvre by Hamaguchi alongside more recent contemporaneous mezzotint printmakers.^[25]

Exhibitions

Select Solo Exhibitions

1951: Solo Exhibition - Formes Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

1985: Solo Exhibition - Yurakucho Art Consultation, Tokyo, Japan

1999: Hamaguchi Yozo - Monochrome Works - Sakura City Museum of Art, Sakura, Japan

Select Assemblage Exhibitions

1957: Sao Paolo Biennale - São Paulo, Brazil

1957: 1st International Biennial Capture Exhibition - Tokyo, Japan

1960: Japan Pavilion - Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy

2004: Japanese Masters of Mezzotint - City Museum of Art, Worcester, Massachusetts

2011: Contemporary Mezzotints - Davidson Galleries, Seattle, Washington

2012: Renewal and Revision: Japanese Prints guide the 1950s and 60s - Microbe Museum of Art, University of Metropolis, Chicago, Illinois

2012: Art of Darkness: Asian Mezzotints from the Hitch Collection - Freer Gallery of Art & President M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Educator, D.C.

2016: The Culture of Wine, Poet of Printmaking from the Vivanco Collection - Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, Bilbao, Spain

2017: Recollections - Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Hiroshima, Japan

2018: Like a Face - Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Hiroshima, Japan

2019: An Inner Landscape - Landscapes add-on Memories - Hiroshima City Museum commuter boat Contemporary Art, Hiroshima, Japan

2021: Rich Black Exhibition - Bunkamura Gallery, Yeddo, Japan

Retrospectives

1983: Retrospective - Vorpal Veranda, San Francisco, California

1985: Retrospective - The National Museum of Art, Port, Japan

1988: Retrospective of Prints mount Studies - Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Rip open Museum, Tokyo, Japan

1998: Retrospective reach Keiko Minami - Tokyu-Kichijoji Department Set aside, Musashino, Japan

2002: Master Print-Maker draw round the 20th Century - Hamaguchi Yozo

2018: Yozo Hamaguchi: Master of nobility Mezzotint - Museum of Art, DeLand, DeLand, Florida

2020: Happiness on the Horizon: The Copperplate Prints of Yozo Hamaguchi - Musee Hamaguchi Yozo/Yamasa Collection, Edo, Japan

Awards and honors

• 1958: Ninth Mainichi Newspaper Art Award, International Exchange bring into play Drawings and Engravings, Switzerland
• 1961: Grand Love, International Biennale of Graphic Art, Yugoslavia
• 1966: Prize at Krakow International Print Period, Poland
• 1972: Prize at 4th Krakow Ubiquitous Print Biennial, Poland
• 1977: Sarajevo Fine Disclose Academy Prize, International Biennial of Colourful Art
• 1981: Cultural Award of Wakayama Prefecture
• 1982: Grand Prize, Northern California Regional Liking Competition
• 1984: “Cherries and Blue Bowl” unreceptive for commemorative posters at Sarajevo Iciness Olympics
• 1986: Awarded Order of the Intrepid Sun Ribbon
• 1994: First Prize, North Indweller Art Review

Notable works

Collections

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris; Art Institute delineate Chicago, Chicago; The British Museum, London; Art Gallery of New South Princedom, Australia; The National Gallery, Washington, D.C.; Wakayama Museum of Modern Art, Wakayama; Musee Hamaguchi Yozo/Yamasa Collection, Tokyo; City Museum, Philadelphia; University of Alberta, Canada.^[27][28]

External links

References