Block Printmaker Iwami

        Reika Iwami (Japan, 1927 - ) is an extremely rare creature: a successful woman in the male-dominated world of Japanese printmaking.  She was inspired by the sôsaku hanga movement (including Hiratsuka) in the 1950s, but she has a completely distinctive style of her own.  Her work is quite abstract, but evokes elements of water, mountains, moon, and other natural forms.  Although she works with wood blocks, she also combines it with techniques of collagraph.  She also uses metallic ink and embossing to add texture to her work.

        The first piece here is very typical of Iwami’s style, showing natural wood grain as well as carved shapes and lines, and the very limited color palette.  Also note the strong embossing in the gold area.  She’s done quite a few variations of this basic composition with the circle, the waves, the wood grain, the gold…

        The second piece is Iwami’s break-out hit, published in The Modern Japanese Print - An Appreciation compiled by James Michener in 1959.  This collection of prints was instrumental in bringing recognition and success to the ten artists it featured.

        I have to confess that I don’t particularly care for Iwami’s work, but variety is the spice of life and it’s fun to feature something different on occasion.  The relatively few printmakers beginning with the letter I makes a great opportunity to pick someone I wouldn’t otherwise have looked at.

        And speaking of the scarcity of I printmakers, it looks like I’ve featured only one before!

Inagaki, Toshijiro

[Pictures: Autumn Waves, woodblock and collagraph by Reika Iwami, 1981 (Image from Smith Art Museum);

Winter Composition No. 2, wood block print by Iwami, 1959 (Image from the Lavenberg Collection of Japanese Prints).]

A-Z Challenge, all posts for the letter I