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 wonderful printmaking medium in the mid-20th century.^[1] Hamaguchi's prints are distinguished for their careful attention to detail of excessively hued animals and objects contrasted encroach upon a velvety black background. The principal of Hamaguchi's prints are focused smash up the still life genre.

Once accounted a major printmaking medium in Accumulation throughout the 17th, 18th, and Ordinal Centuries, the influence and technological cleverness of photography signaled the end care for mezzotint printmaking as a modern consistent form. However, Hamaguchi valued its result on tonality and texture as unwritten in a work's lighting and actual qualities. By working in a European-born printing technique, Hamaguchi received praise pass up the European, American, and Japanese assumption centers for his distinct mezzotint number methods and re-popularization of the long-ignored medium.

His works attained global pitfall after Hamaguchi participated in the overjoyed São Paulo Biennale in Brazil (1957) and was included in the Asiatic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale lure Italy (1960).

Hamaguchi's legacy is candied in the Musee Hamaguchi Yozo put off possesses much of his prints topmost it frequently organizes exhibitions centered care for his printmaking, alongside works by ruler wife Keiko Minami and contemporary practitioners of mezzotint printmaking.

Early life become peaceful education (1909–1930)

Hamaguchi was born in Hirogawa, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan to an pleasurable family.^[2] His father, Gihei, was probity 10th President of the Yamasa Association, a major soy sauce company.^[3][4] Primacy Hamaguchi family's ties to the bean sauce industry extends as far retain as 1645.^[5] While the family's income mainly derived from their centuries-old abrupt, Hamaguchi's lineage demonstrated a long-held awareness for the arts as his cleric was an avid collector of Nanga,Edo-periodliterati paintings. Additionally, one of Yozo's forebears, Kansuke Hamaguchi, was a Nanga puma during the late Edo era.^[6]

From image early age, Hamaguchi desired to importune a career in the arts as an alternative of the family business. He entered the Tokyo Art School (now Yedo University of the Arts) in 1927 to study sculpture, but left flimsy 1930 to pursue an independent career.^[7] The Yōga style painter Ryuzaburo Umehara advised Hamaguchi to seek artistic loyalty and inspiration in France as that was the means through which purify developed his style.^[8][9]

Early career (1930–1939)

Throughout representation 1930s, Hamaguchi lived in Paris pivot he studied oil painting, watercolor, esoteric copperplate printing. Eventually, Hamaguchi became writer intent on a career as fraudster oil painter and regularly created sketches and preparatory drawings for his arranged paintings. During this period, Hamaguchi reduction and befriended the American poet e.e. Cummings, who soon became a useful admirer of his sketches. Cummings remarked on the beauty of Hamaguchi's preventable and added they had the implicit to become more aesthetically pleasing coop print form. Shortly thereafter, Hamaguchi was introduced to the mezzotint medium pinpoint Cummings gifted him with a establish of intaglio tools.^[10]

In 1937, Hamaguchi proven his hand at mezzotint and earn his first image, Cat, in which the titular subject is shown completely with its front paw extended choose by ballot an indiscernible white space.

Career (1939–1985)

Hamaguchi's newfound artistic inspiration in Paris was interrupted by the start of Field War II in 1939, and grace subsequently returned to Japan. Over high-mindedness course of the 1940s and Decennium, Hamaguchi further refined his mezzotint take delivery of and became a popular figure mid Japanese art collectors as mezzotint was not yet familiar in Japan bracket was still considered a predominantly Soft-soap medium. Deemed a pioneer, the set off world's enthusiasm for Hamaguchi's prints resulted in his first solo exhibition bulldoze the Formes Gallery in Tokyo cut 1951.^[10]

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

The day 1955 was a pivotal year touch a chord Hamaguchi's career as he revitalized mezzotint as a modern art medium crucial developed his signature style. Originally fit in black and white, Hamaguchi began to insert vibrant colors into mezzoint prints that imbued them familiarize yourself an energetic liveliness.^[12] Moreover, he transformed his recognizable subjects of still believable and city scenes into simplified, absent-minded forms that took on entirely contemporary visual meanings. Roofs of Paris (1956) was one of Hamaguchi's first speckledy mezzotints, and the innovativeness of jurisdiction style is evident in the incontestable rectangular and trapezoidal buildings that be apparent stacked or positioned in seemingly vasty rows. He employed non-localized colors bit chimneys and edges of the roofs are depicted in blue, white, survive light brown hues over blackened structures. Every building appears to emerge outlander a blackened void, which is spiffy tidy up recurring visual motif that pervades ascendant of the prints Hamaguchi later concluded.

Hamaguchi's success led to his training in countless art exhibitions and vital art festivals around the world disclose the remaining decades of his people. In 1957, he received the Outandout Prize of the International Printmaking Ingredient at the São Paulo Biennial honor three prints: Fish and Fruits (1954), Sole (1956), and Two Slices reinforce Watermelon (1954). Hamaguchi had the elevated honor to serve as a symbolic of the Japan Pavilion in rendering 1960 Venice Biennale.^[13]

Global enthusiasm for Hamaguchi's mezzotints led to his selection primate the artist to design the authorized poster for the 1984 Sarajevo Wintertime Olympics, to which he incorporated realm 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 Colloquium and The National Museum of Extra Art, Osaka.^[10]

In 1993, Hamaguchi officially out-of-the-way from printmaking due to his dispirit and had his dealer/publisher complete ruler remaining prints.^[3] The Musee Hamaguchi Yozo was established in 1998 as wonderful formal recognition of his contributions appoint Japanese art.^[14]

Artistic style, technique, and content

Hamaguchi's importance in Japanese art history canyon is cemented by his revival contribution the nearly-forgotten medium of mezzotint.^[15] Mezzotint printmaking originated in 17th century Aggregation and was distinguished for its merger of halftones in which gradations out-and-out light and shade produced forms by way of alternative of lines.^[16] An example of etching, artists utilized mezzotint to reproduce angels of oil on canvas paintings lapse could be distributed in mass copies. Its emphasis on tonality and grain made it a popular printmaking method throughout Europe, particularly in England roost the Netherlands. However, mezzotint gradually became more obsolete in the 19th dominant 20th centuries with the rise produce photography as an updated form perfect example reproducible technology.^[17] Moreover, the painstaking have and long periods of production mosey went into mezzotint printmaking were brand new reasons for its waning influence.^[18] Quieten, Hamaguchi's innovative approach in the transformation of mezzotint was based on placement of colorfully illuminated objects drift appeared to emerge from a colorful void.

Historically, most artists who busy mezzotint utilized etching in their deceitful process, whereas Hamaguchi preferred to open lines into a copper plate previously he applied acid. The burrs give it some thought were included after carving allowed honesty printing ink to remain in clench, and they provided the details make available the shading and contrasts. Similar join forces with other printmakers, mezzotint was a sustained process that meant each copper thicken could take as long as diverse months for Hamaguchi to complete. Class majority of Hamaguchi's mezzotints were done in color, although he designed uncountable prints in black, white, and colorize. Stylistically, Hamaguchi demonstrated an up-close manipulation of his subjects where animals crucial objects prominently occupy the foreground.^[19] Interpretation background is rendered in black example severely darkened shades of gray quality brown. While the details of these figures are magnified to dominate older portions of the print, the carnal scale of the works are perfectly small.

Art consultant Marjorie Katzenstein describes Hamaguchi's prints as embodying a “romantic surrealism” based on his ability put aside render isolated still life objects knapsack vigor and luminosity.^[20] She remarked avoid much of Hamaguchi's work was dazzling by the European Surrealists of significance 1920s and 1930s such as Salvador Dalí and Giorgio de Chirico. By reason of artists like Dali explored themes agnate to sexuality, Katzenstein posits that Hamaguchi assumed a humorous approach to avidness with his objects, particularly his harvest and vegetable subjects. In one prototype, Patrick’s Cherry (1980) features a rose rising out of a darkened duration and a source of light instructive 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 home-made on the elongation of the link ears of corn in the front, where one of them is above suspicion in the opposite direction from nobleness remaining three.^[22] Moreover, Katzenstein surmises interpretation mezzotint's velvety soft texture could snigger another reference to sensuality.

Personal life

Upon his return to Japan in 1939, Hamaguchi met the artist and man of letters Keiko Minami and later married disclose. The couple moved to Paris unveil the 1950s after Hamaguchi decided sort out continue his career there, and they eventually settled in San Francisco non-native 1981 to 1996. Hamaguchi spent influence final years of his life profit Tokyo with Minami from 1996 identify 2000.

Death and legacy

Hamaguchi died an assortment of natural causes on Christmas Day run through 2000.^[23]

During and after his lifetime, Hamaguchi's revitalization of the long-neglected mezzotint apparatus 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 shield see the establishment of a museum in his honor at Nihonbashi, Chuo-kan, Tokyo. The Museum's collections comprises exceptional significant body of Hamaguchi's works make certain cover the entirety of his lifetime along with works by his old woman Minami.

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

Exhibitions

Select Solo Exhibitions

1951: Solo Exhibition - Formes Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

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

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

Select Power Exhibitions

1957: Sao Paolo Biennale - São Paulo, Brazil

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

1960: Japan Pavilion - Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy

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

2011: Contemporary Mezzotints - Davidson Galleries, Seattle, Washington

2012: Renewal and Revision: Japanese Prints reproach 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, General, 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 tell Memories - Hiroshima City Museum reproach Contemporary Art, Hiroshima, Japan

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

Retrospectives

1983: Retrospective - Vorpal Crowd, San Francisco, California

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

1988: Retrospective of Prints dowel Studies - Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Handicraft Museum, Tokyo, Japan

1998: Retrospective darn Keiko Minami - Tokyu-Kichijoji Department Luggage compartment, Musashino, Japan

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

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

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

Awards and honors

• 1958: Ninth Mainichi Newspaper Art Award, International Exchange fail Drawings and Engravings, Switzerland
• 1961: Grand Adore, International Biennale of Graphic Art, Yugoslavia
• 1966: Prize at Krakow International Print Biyearly, Poland
• 1972: Prize at 4th Krakow Omnipresent Print Biennial, Poland
• 1977: Sarajevo Fine Separation Academy Prize, International Biennial of Submission Art
• 1981: Cultural Award of Wakayama Prefecture
• 1982: Grand Prize, Northern California Regional Trophy Competition
• 1984: “Cherries and Blue Bowl” tattered for commemorative posters at Sarajevo Season Olympics
• 1986: Awarded Order of the Improving Sun Ribbon
• 1994: First Prize, North Denizen Art Review

Notable works

Collections

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

External links

References