Ido, Masao (1945 - 2016 )
Masao Ido was born in 1945 in Beipiao in Northeastern China. After his family returned to their hometown of Kyoto in 1960, he began his artistic career under Koho Yoshida, working with dyes, before shifting to contemporary woodblock prints in 1972. Under the tutelage of Shigechika Ohtsubo, Masao Ido honed his distinct woodblock print style. His work captures a sense of tranquility, whether in the sloping eaves of old houses or lush gardens. Masao Ido has exhibited his work worldwide. His contemporary woodblock prints can be found in numerous permanent collections, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Sosaku Hanga | Post-WWII Japanese Prints
The Sosaku Hanga or “creative print” movement emerged in the changing Japan of the early 20th century. The movement arose from a central tenant: the artist must participate in every aspect of production. As artists shed the traditional delegation of ukiyo-e production and explored each role themselves, the act of printmaking adopted a more spontaneous, expressive attitude. Artists explored with the knife, chisel, woodblock, and ink to push to the boundaries of their medium. Originally excluded from Japan’s formal art world, Sosaku Hanga began on the pages of magazines. It was not until 1919 that the first Sosaku Hanga exhibition opened in Tokyo. Ranging from figural to abstract, the movement flourished after WWII, and found a new, eager audience among American GIs. In this collection, Ronin Gallery presents masters of Sosaku Hanga such as Onchi, Ono, Munakata, Saito, Sekino, and Mori, as well as other post-war Japanese printmakers.
