 |
 |
 |
1939- Born in Kyoto
Studied under Suekazu Nakamura
Graduated from Ohki Senior High School
1950- Learned the technique of woodblock printing at Uchida Art School in Kyoto
1963-65- Exhibited at independent exhibitions
1980- Began to create woodblock prints on a larger scale
1984- Introduced the techniques of woodblock printing in New York City
1985- Taught at Seika College in the woodblock printing department Became a member of the Preservation Society of Ukiyoe. Worked jointlywith Hundert Wasser, prominent artist born in Vienna.
1994-97- Exhibited at Koetsu Art Village
1997- His work was introduced by the Hendricks Art Collection, Ltd. Bethesda, Md.
1998- His work will be exhibited in the Kitsutsuki-Kai Group Show
1999- One-man show, Hendricks Art Collection, Ltd., Bethesda, Md.
2000- His work is primarily sold in Japan. The Hendricks Art Collection Ltd. is the only source of his work in the United States.
He was interviewed in depth by Kappy Hendricks, June 2000. He primarily learned the art of woodblock printing at Uchida Art Studio, where he was the carver of blocks for reproductions of ukiyoe for 30 years. It was there that the printers of ukiyoe reproductions taught him how to print woodblock prints. Because of this extensive training he has become a master of woodblock printing in a shorter period of time than normal.
The paper which he uses for his prints is created by Iwamo Ichibei, a Living National Treasure in Japan. Mr Ichibei lives and works in the Fukui area. After he receives the paper from the papermaker, he adheres another sheet of mulberry paper to the back. It is for that reason that his prints are flat and not wavy.
In creating his images, he searches for the simplest possible aspects to portray in his work. He is looking for poetry in his creations. His subjects are primarily the shrines and temples of Kyoto and also the thatched-roofed farmhouses of the Shirakawa-go, and other locations in Japan.
Although he never met Mr. Kiyoshi Saito, his influence is obvious in Mr. Kawashima's works. Simple, poetic snow scenes with unbelievable amounts of shading in the eaves of the straw thatched houses. This shading known as "bokashi" is very difficult to achieve. The artists who are masters at "bokashi" such as Kawashima and Shifu Miyamoto are most successful in Japan.
Although his works appear to be simple, they require a tremendous amount of work. In one of his recent snow scenes, he used 32 blocks and 32 stages of printing. Because of the time consuming element of his work, he completes only four different images per year.
We predict that his work will be in a number of museums in the near future and the number of his collectors will increase substantially.