Yozo Hamaguchi (April 5, 1909 - December 25, 2000) was a Japanese copper printmaker who specialized in mezzotint and…
Yozo Hamaguchi (April 5, 1909 - December 25, 2000) was a Japanese copper printmaker who specialized in mezzotint and was responsible for its resurgence as a printmaking medium in the mid-20th century. Hamaguchi's prints are distinguished for their careful attention to detail of boldly hued animals and objects contrasted against a velvety black background. The corpus of Hamaguchi's prints are focused on the still life genre. Once considered a major printmaking medium in Europe throughout the 17th, 18th, and 19th Centuries, the influence and technological ingenuity of photography signaled the end of mezzotint printmaking as a modern reproducible form. However, Hamaguchi valued its emphasis on tonality and texture as expressed in a work's lighting and tactile qualities. By working in a European-born printing technique, Hamaguchi received praise from the European, American, and Japanese art centers for his distinct mezzotint printing methods and re-popularization of the long-ignored medium. His works attained global exposure after Hamaguchi participated in the prestigious São Paulo Biennale in Brazil (1957) and was included in the Japanese Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in Italy (1960). Hamaguchi's legacy is preserved in the Musee Hamaguchi Yozo that possesses much of his prints and it frequently organizes exhibitions centered on his printmaking, alongside works by his wife Keiko Minami and contemporary practitioners of mezzotint printmaking.
Famous People from Wakayama Prefecture
Wakayama Prefecture: 4 people
Kanpū Ōmata (大亦 観風, Ōmata Kanpū; 9 September 1894 – 22 October 1947) was the pseudonym of Japanese Shōwa period painter…
Kanpū Ōmata (大亦 観風, Ōmata Kanpū; 9 September 1894 – 22 October 1947) was the pseudonym of Japanese Shōwa period painter and Waka poet, Omata Shinjirō.
Eitaro Ishigaki (石垣 栄太郎, Ishigaki Eitarō; December 1, 1893 - January 23, 1958) was a Japanese-born American painter. He…
Eitaro Ishigaki (石垣 栄太郎, Ishigaki Eitarō; December 1, 1893 - January 23, 1958) was a Japanese-born American painter. He lived and worked in the United States between 1909 and 1952. Ishigaki, who came to the US as a migrant worker in the early 20th century, depicted the contradictions of American society from the perspective of a minority person. Ishigaki was also a founding member of progressive and politically active organizations, including the John Reed Clubs (JRC) in 1929 and the American Artists' Congress in 1936. Ishigaki was a committed leftist throughout his life and career, "whose canvases and murals depicted social injustices and urban life." His one of best known works, The Bonus March (1932), depicts a critical moment in WWI veterans' famous march into Washington, D.C., in 1932. Ishigaki's work is held by the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1997 and 2013, the Museum of Modern Art, Wakayama held commemorative exhibitions of his works. His work is also located in the Ishigaki Eitaro Memorial Museum in Wakayama, Japan.
Kawabata Shotarō (川端 昇太郎; 6 June 1885 – 10 April 1966), later known as Kawabata Ryūshi (川端 龍子; Japanese pronunciation…
Kawabata Shotarō (川端 昇太郎; 6 June 1885 – 10 April 1966), later known as Kawabata Ryūshi (川端 龍子; Japanese pronunciation: [ka.wa.ba.ta (|) ɾʲɯꜜː.ɕi],), was a Japanese Nihonga artist active during the Taishō and Shōwa periods.