HAYASHI Takahiko
Born: 1961, in Gifu Prefecture, Japan
Medium: Etching with Drypoint & Aquatint, Mixed Media paintings

Takahiko Hayashi works diligently at creating masterfully bold abstractions, often with vibrant color. He has two different studios to accommodate painting and printmaking. In each, his work has a mystical quality and the titles reflect interest in philosophy (“Considering Lao-Tse”), sculpture (“Considering Enku”) and natural phenomena (“Spinning Wind”).

The mixed-media paintings are a diary titled with the date of creation. They might include woven paper, cotton fabric, twisted and knotted washi, molding paste, acrylic, oil paint and handmade papers. As a result, an appealing and strong textural element is added to the overall design. Recently Hayashi has been painting on glass and old parchment papers from England. The joining of old and new, East and West, provides him with additional intriguing creative options.

Several different intaglio techniques are used for making these etchings. Usually the artist uses a single plate and prints only once which facilitates registration. It is a complex task of layering papers and careful inking different colors on the one plate. This results in a variety of fine lines, bold strokes and mottled textural areas, using etching, drypoint and aquatint.

It is the combination of elements conveying movement with those emblematic of solidity that give Hayashi’s images their strength and interest. Lines swirl and eddy, textures soften and modulate, block shapes rise from a rich colorful background. The artist may also combine separately printed sheets of paper into a single image, allowing for the combination of a richly varied palette.

Takahiko Hayashi received a BFA from Musashino Art University and an MFA in printmaking from the National University of Fine Arts and Music in Tokyo. He now teaches art at the university level on a part tine basis.

Selected Exhibitions:
1987 to the present - Annual CWAJ exhibits, Tokyo
1987 - International Print Biennial, Ljubljana, Yugoslavia
1992 - Modern Japanese Art Exhibition, Tokyo (prize winner)
1994 – Shiga, Japan Hong Kong
1997 - The Contemporary Japanese Art Movement, Museum of Modern Art, Toyama
1999 - University of Calgary, Canada
2002 - Augsburg, Germany
2003, 2005, 2008 - Ren Brown Collection, Bodega Bay
2004, 2006 - Dublin, Ireland
2004 - Seattle, Washington
2005 - Seoul, Korea

Selected Collections:
Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo
Bridgestone Museum of Art, Tokyo
Queensland Art Gallery, Australia
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Australia
Museum of Modern Art, Shiga
National Museum of Art, Osaka