As part of the International Mokuhanga Conference 2017 Satellite Program, Donkey Mill Art Center will host an artist talk featuring the art of April Vollmer, Keiko Hara and Hidehiko Goto.
The public is invited to the event, which runs 6:30-8:30 p.m., for pupu and refreshments to celebrate and honor the artists
Vollmer is a New York artist who focuses on mokuhanga, Japanese woodcut printmaking. She also makes drawings, collages, books and digital prints. She has lectured widely and her work has been exhibited internationally. She has taught workshops across the United States. Her work has been published in journals including Science, Printmaking Today and Contemporary Impressions and her book, “Japanese Woodblock Print Workshop,” was released by Watson-Guptill in August 2015.
Hara, currently professor of art at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, was born in Japan, where she first attended art school. Among her degrees, she holds an master’s degree in fine arts from Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Her prints are exhibited internationally. In 1983, Hara was granted United States permanent resident status as an artist. Early in March 1995, Hara went to Japan with two students to work in the studio and home of master printer Tadashi Toda who has made woodblock prints with artists such as Richard Diebenkorn, Wayne Thiebaud, Helen Frankenthaler, Francesco Clemente, Chuck Close and Alex Katz.
Goto has exhibited widely across Japan, as well as Central Europe, winning important prizes for his inimitable prints. In 1989, he was named Most Promising New Artist in a major print exhibition held in Tokyo, also taking its Grand Prix. Goto takes his inspiration from nature forms. He is particularly drawn to the simple lines and shapes of natural objects such as stones, which he collects from morning walks along the beach with his dog. This early morning time is critical for him: he often draws before he is completely awake.
On Saturday, DMAC will host an artists reception for its exhibit, “Globalizing Mokuhanga,” which remains on view through Oct. 14. The free event runs 6-8 p.m.
This exhibition showcases more than 30 prints by artists from all parts of the world who represent the growing Mokuhanga Innovation Lab (MI-LAB) alumni. The collection illustrates the diversity of mokuhanga expression and how the individual artists merged with Japanese culture and tradition creates innovation. As an extension of this exhibition, Studio 7 Fine Arts Gallery in Holualoa Village will showcase the works of special guests and teaching artist Goto, Vollmer and Hara.
Info: Visit www.donkeymillartcenter.org.