IWAMI, Reika
Born: Tokyo, Japan in 1927, died 2020

Medium: Woodblock with embossing

Reika Iwami had long been one of the leading women printmakers in Japan. She studied art at the Bunka Gakuin in Tokyo, and spent several years as a doll maker. In 1953 she began studying woodblock with masters Koshiro Onchi and Junichiro Sekino. One of the unique aspects of Iwami's woodblock prints is the avoidance of color. Instead, her prints usually are limited in hue to rich blacks, textured grays and some metallic gold.

Iwami lived near the ocean in Kanagawa, and so water and the sea are frequent subjects. She emphasized both line and texture, and sometimes included heavy embossing, and the application of powdered mica over wet ink. As a result we see wave-like patterns, areas reminiscent of windswept, glistening sand, and the use of weathered wood scraps or fish nets for embossing. One may also find intriguing shapes such as circular full moons, arcs and thrusting, powerful forms used to create a wide array of imagery in the work.

Although she usually only used a few blocks, Iwami still had to do many steps in the printing process. To achieve the deep velvety blacks requires overprinting four or five separate times. In addition, embossing requires a great deal of physical strength. But still, the artist felt it is imperative to do the carving of the blocks, and all steps in printing herself, despite her diminutive size. Reika Iwami' s woodblock prints are most often executed in small edition sizes, and always evoke power, strength and yet quiet serenity. They are the visual equivalent of the seventeen syllable haiku poems, of which she was a devotee for many years - rnuch is implied and all that is not necessary is eliminated.

    Exhibits:
        Japan Print Association, Tokyo
        CWAJ Exhibits, Tokyo
        Contemporary Japanese Print Exhibit,                 
        Australia International Graphic Art Society, New York
        Bradford Print     Biennal, Great Britain
        Torre Greco Exhibit, Italy--award winner
        Pistoia International Print Exhibition, Italy
        Contemporary Graphic Exhibit, Toronto, Canada
        Japanese Print Show, Dusseldorf, Germany
        La Jeune Gravure Contemporaire, Paris,     France
        Modern Japanese Print Exhibit, Brussels, Belgium

    Collections:
        The British Museum, London
        University of Oregon
        Museum of Modem Art, New York
        Yokohama Museum of Art
        Cincinnati Art Museum, Ohio
        Library of Congress, Washington, DC
        David Rockefeller
        American Express, Tokoyo