This exhibit will feature a wide array of Japanese printmaking techniques. It encourages the viewer to think beyond the stereotypes of Japanese printmaking.

You don’t need to board a plane and endure a thirteen hour flight to experience the art and culture of Japan … instead, you can come to the Foster Gallery on the UW-Eau Claire campus. You are invited to experience a Japanese printmaking exhibition featuring 13 talented Japanese artists entitled Redefining the Multiple.

Traditional Japanese printmaking began in Japan as early as the eighth century to print religious texts. Carved into wood, these colorful pieces of art highlight flowing, curved outlines in two dimensions. Exact, careful, and precise, Japanese printmaking reflects the structured and beautifully detailed culture of Japan itself. Japan was a very private and isolated country for most of world history. When the world got its first glimpses into the delicate and intricate beauty of Japanese culture, Japanese art was mimicked all over the world. Ando Hiroshige is one of the most popular Japanese printmaking artists in history. His colorful woodprints of Mount Fuji and Japanese sakura (cherry blossoms) are easily recognizable worldwide and give impressive glimpses of Japanese countryside.

Now Japanese artists are expanding their artwork to include more contemporary European and American looks. The technically challenging works in Redefining the Multiple manipulate traditional Japanese materials for a dramatic effect. However, though these artists are working in new directions, it is still easy to observe theprecision engrained in these traditionally trained artists.

There are 13 featured artists. Shoji Miyamoto exhibits one example of the traditional Japanese style printmaking with colorful woodcuts. In contrast, Kiyono Koichi branches out of the traditional woodcutting to create lithographs on fabric that are stretched over a form. Yoshioka Toshinao uses photography to document artistically skinned watermelons. Yoshiki Marie presents perhaps the most impressive display of patience and intricacy with her layers upon layers of silkscreen ink that create impressive designs resembling lace.

This exhibit features a wide array of Japanese printmaking techniques and interpretations. It encourages the viewer to stretch their minds and think beyond the stereotypes of Japanese printmaking and examine the various ways “multiples” can be interpreted. This traveling exhibition was put together by the Ewing Gallery from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

An opening reception for Redefining The Multiple will be at 7:30pm on Nov. 1. The show will run through the end of November at the Foster Gallery in Haas Fine Arts.