Lecture: Seen and Unseen-Japan's Postwar Women Printmakers

Jeannie Kenmotsu, curator of Asian Art at the Portland Art Museum, discusses the resurgence of printmaking in postwar Japan and the women artists who rose with it.
In the postwar period of the 20th century, Japanese printmaking experienced a revival fueled by enthusiastic foreign collectors, new commercial galleries, and a talented young generation. Printing on blocks, plates, and stones, women artists were among those drawn to the expressive potential of the medium in the early 1950s. Today, however, many of their stories are unknown-despite the fact that their work is widely held in North American institutions and private collections. This lecture illuminates the women artists who forged ahead in creative new ways, both in and outside of the studio.