About the artist
Reika Iwami was a Sosaku Hanga artist known for her abstract compositions. Muted in color, sensitive to natural textures, and embellished with gold and silver, her work marks a significant contribution to the Sosaku Hanga, or “Creative Print,” movement. Born in Tokyo, she grew up in Kyushu. She began her artistic career at Bunka Gakuin in Tokyo, where she explored oil painting, doll making under the Living National Treasure Ryujo Hori, and printmaking. In 1954, exposure to the works of Koshiro Onchi, a key figure of the Sosaku Hanga movement, shifted Iwami’s focus to printmaking. She studied under Onchi’s students Jun’ichiro Sekino and Takumi Shinagawa and quickly made a name for herself as a modern woodblock print artist. She joined the Japan Print Association in 1955. In 1957, she co-founded the Women’s Print Association with nine other Japanese female printmakers. Throughout her career, she regularly exhibited her work internationally. Her work can be found in institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York, British Museum, Art Institute of Chicago, and the Library of Congress.