MORI, Yoshitoshi

Born: Tokyo, in 1898, died in 1992
Medium: Stencil and Woodblock


Mori graduated from the Kawabata School of Fine Arts, and like Sadao Watanabe, he studied stencil dyeing techniques for textiles with the masters Soetsu Yanagi and Keisuke Serikawa. He worked on dyeing kimono fabric for much of his career. It wasn’t until the late 1950’s that he seriously began making Kappazuri, or stencil prints on paper. The artist is particularly known for colorful renditions of characters from the Kabuki theater, as well as subjects from Japanese festivals and traditional lore. The figures are most often rendered with a simplicity that manages to denote great energy and movement. Like Mori himself, the characters in his artwork seem to revel in life--whether prancing as an actor might across the stage, cavorting in dance to the to the beat of a drummer, or hauling a cart of vegetables to market. Mori is known for using earthy colors in his work, and for often positioning his figures in a somewhat contorted and dynamic mass.

Exhibitions:
Japan Print Association, Tokyo
Japan Society, New York City--traveling show in US
Wako Department Store, Tokyo
Honolulu Academy of Arts
Barcelona, Spain--prize winner
Brussels, Belgium
Cologne, Germany
Paris, France
El Salvador
Sao Paulo, Brazil
National Museum of Ethnology, Leiden, Netherlands
CWAJ show, Tokyo
Collections:
Museum of Modern Art, New York City
National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
Museum of Art, Barcelon, Spain
San Diego Museum, California
Museum of Fire Arts, Boston
Japan Folk Art Museum, Tokyo
Art Institute of Chicago
Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura
President Jimmy Carter
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Pasadena Art Museum
M.H. DeYoung Museum, San Francisco