Description
The Tokaido and Nakasendo historical traveling routes met in Kusatsu, continue together through Otsu into the ancient capital of Kyoto. Both Kusatsu and Otsu stations lie on Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan and one of the oldest in the world.
About the artist
Walt Padgett is an American artist and educator whose work brings the tradition of Japanese woodblock printmaking into conversation with the rhythms of contemporary life. Padgett studied architecture before turning to fine art, earning both his B.F.A. and M.F.A. in sculpture from Florida State University. Though trained first as a sculptor, Padgett found his enduring artistic language in woodblock printmaking. In the early 1980s, he studied Japanese woodblock techniques in Japan, including intensive training at the Yoshida Hanga Academy in Tokyo.
Padgett works in the spirit of sōsaku-hanga, the “creative print” movement in which the artist designs, carves, and prints each work by hand. Each work carries the intimacy of the hand-carved block, the nuance of layered pigment, and the quiet authority of an artist who has spent decades refining his craft. His work is held by museums, universities, institutions, corporations, and private collectors, including the Portland Art Museum, the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, the National Museum of Jordan, and the Yoshida Hanga Academy in Tokyo.