Tanaka, Masaaki (1947 - Present)
Masaaki Tanaka is a contemporary printmaker. Born in Tokyo, he graduated from Musashino Art University with a major in Oil Painting in 1971. Following graduation, he stayed with the university as an assistant instructor in Print Research for two years. During this time, he studied woodblock printmaking with Sho Kidokoro, stone printing with Shohachi Shimizu and taught himself silkscreen, all the while traveling to the United States and Europe. For 10 years one of his silkscreen prints appeared on the cover page of the weekly magazine The Shukan Shincho. The Japanese government presented one of Tanaka’s prints to President Ronald Reagan during a visit to Japan. Tanaka has actively exhibited worldwide throughout his career. His prints can be found in collections such as the Art Institute of Chicago, Portland Art Museum, and Honolulu 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.
1 Product
Tanaka, Masaaki
Parade of Tenzushi Dolls, Yamanashi Pref.
JPR-111356