Modern Japanese Printmakers: New Waves and Eruptions, Malene Wagner

In Modern Japanese Printmakers: New Waves and Eruptions, the page becomes a gallery for post-war Japanese printmaking — a period of reinvention, experimentation, and deep-felt renewal. The book captures the moment when traditional woodblock and print techniques encountered modern sensibilities: from bold monochrome woodcuts that echo both austerity and meditation, to explosive bursts of colour and abstraction that recall psychedelia and dreamscapes.

Through over 100 full-page reproductions, each print is given room to breathe: the grain of paper, the bleed of ink, the nuance of texture — all rendered with clarity so you can almost feel the blockpress beneath your fingers. What emerges is not a dusty catalogue of old prints, but a living dialogue between maker and medium, tradition and transformation. The book honours well-known masters — from the powerful, evocative black-and-white of Munakata Shikō to the lyrical abstractions of Shinoda Tōkō — and rejoices in rediscovering lesser-known voices, lesser-seen works: each a whisper or a cry in the evolving story of Japanese graphic art.

About the Author
Malene Wagner is a Danish art historian and art dealer specializing in Japanese art. She runs the consultancy firm Tiger Tanuki, and has worked with museums across Europe, producing curatorial and scholarly work on Japanese art and printmaking.

Publication date: 2025
Publisher: Prestel Publishing
Pages: 272
Binding: Hardcover
ISBN: 9783791377841