IKEZAKI Yoshio

Born: 1953 in Kitakyushu City
Medium: sumi ink paintings and sculpted paper


Yoshio Ikezaki studied papermaking in Japan and then received a BA and an MFA from Florida State University. As an avid artist and teacher, his time is now divided between Los Angeles and Kitakyushu in southern Japan. In both cultures he teaches papermaking and brush painting, as well as philosophy and aesthetics classes at such places as Tama Art University in Tokyo, Southern California Institute of Architecture, UCLA Extension. He has lectured at Coopers Union, Pratt Art Institute and the Parsons School of Design in New York, among others.

Ikezaki’s sumi ink paintings on paper are mysterious and evocative. One group is entitled “Gathered Dreams” and alternately appear as landscapes or metaphysical statements. There is subtlety, delicacy and sometimes a light sprinkling of metallic powder to give an inner luminescence. Other directions include similar images combined with verses from the Hannya Shingyo (Heart Sutra) carefully rendered with delicate brushstrokes.

Because of his fascination with dimensionality, Yoshio Ikezaki has also explored sculptural work. The heavily layered papers are colored with sumi ink and may also have a Buddhist inscription. He has also collaborated with Western artists, actors, and musicians doing stage design. Yoshio Ikezaki’s work truly joins East and West, modern and traditional in a completely unique fashion.

Selected Solo and Group Exhibitions:

Shoukokuji Temple, Kyoto
LA Artcore Retrospective, Los Angeles
City Gallery, Osaka,
Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena
Ventura College, California
Atlanta, Georgia
Taegu Art Museum, Korea
Museum Rijswijk, Holland