KAWADA, Kan

Born: 1924, in Tokyo; died in 1999
Medium: Stencil prints


After graduation from the Bunka Gakuin of Fine Arts in 1953, where he had studied oil painting, Kawada chose to devote his career to printmaking.  His special focus is the stencil process.  This artform derives from the traditional Japanese craft of fabric dyeing.  

A thick piece of handmade mulberry paper is first permeated with persimmon juice, giving it a deep orange brown color.  The persimmon juice does two things--first, it makes the paper strong enough to withstand repeated printings.  And second, it makes the paper somewhat more brittle, so that the cuts made with various knives are clean and not ragged.  This allows sharp lines in the image, and prevents blurring of colors. 

Kawada is a master at creating prints of traditional architecture--stone walls, temples and everyday shops and homes.  With the technique Kawada uses, a master stencil provides the basic outline, which are dark gray or black.  Other stencils are cut for the accent pieces and color.  His prints are not static landscapes--there is always power, movement, and the knowledge that kpeople are only momentarily absent from his scenes.  The various colors used in the prints are all derived from natural dyes--even the somewhat striking mustard and bright reds.


Exhibitions:
    International Graphic Society, New York
    Kaiso Nitten Show, Tokyo--1973 to present, frequent prize winner
    Hakone, Japan--Grand Prix award, 1981
    Kanagawa, Japan--Grand Prize, 1982