International Print Biennial Varna
JAPANESE GRAPHIC ART EXHIBITION
This exhibition presents fifty works by renowned Japanese printmakers from the Varna Graphic Arts Gallery collection, spanning the period from the first International Print Biennale in Varna in 1981 to 2015. Featured artists include globally recognized names such as Atsuo Sakazume, Nabuo Sato, Yoshikatsu Tamekane, Endo Susumo, Toshimi Kitano, and Yoshito Arichi. Grand Prize winners Kunito Nagaoka (1985) and Toshio Yoshizumi (1997) are also part of the selection, attesting to the high quality of Japanese print art.
Japanese printmaking, rooted in a 1,500-year-old tradition beginning with Buddhist woodblock texts, has evolved into an art form of exceptional mastery. Deeply influenced by Zen Buddhism, it reflects ideals of spiritual growth, harmony with nature, and elegant simplicity. Art is not just creative expression but a path to enlightenment.
These values are evident in the exhibited works, which are minimalist, contemplative, and symbolically rich. Artists use clear forms—often echoing the bold impact of Japanese calligraphy—to explore universal themes such as ethics, nature, and human existence. Techniques include wood engraving, gravure, aquatint, mezzotint, and lithography, showcasing outstanding craftsmanship.
The collection features a diverse range of styles—from the psychological depth of Sakazume and Sato, to Nagaoka’s surreal landscapes, and the abstract expressions of Kurosaki, Tamekane, and Ryosaku. Works vary from traditional black-and-white to vibrant compositions filled with color and life.
Ultimately, the exhibition reflects the essence of Japanese culture, where art and life are intertwined, guided by aesthetics, philosophy, and a pursuit of inner balance.
Atsuo Sakazumi
Atsuo Sakazumi (born 1941) is a Japanese printmaker known for his mezzotint and copperplate works. He was born in Gunma Prefecture, graduated with an engineering degree from Kyoto University in 1965, and has received major awards for his prints, including the Grand Prix at the 5th Print Biennale. His art is part of the collections of major museums like the British Museum and the National Museum of Asian Art.
Akira Kurosaki
Born 1937 in Dalian, Manchuria, Kurosaki attended Kyoto Institute of Technology. Inspired by traditional “nishiki-e” (ukiyo-e) prints, he started to produce woodblock prints in 1965. In 1967, Kurosaki received the Newcomer Award of the Kokugakai Association. He won the 3rd Prize of the 14th Shell Art Award of 1970 and the Prize of the Minister of Education at the Tokyo International Print Biennale. Kurosaki’s reputation further rose when he was awarded at the 3rd Krakow International Print Biennale and his works were acquired by the Warsaw National Museum of Art.
Nobuo Satoh
Nobuo Satoh (1926-2005) was a Japanese printmaker primarily known for his refined mezzotints and etchings, which feature modern, simplified compositions with surrealist tendencies. His work is highly regarded for its technical skill in expressing textures and rich tones, and is held in prestigious collections like the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Konito nagaoka
Kunito Nagaoka, printmaker, painter, and educator, was born in Nagano Prefecture, Japan in 1940. He worked as a graphic designer in Tokyo for three years before moving to Berlin in 1966. He studied in the Print Department in graphic, print, and advertising at the State Academy, and later in the Print and Painting Department of State Academy of Fine Arts. Her earned his Masters degree under Professor Gerhard Bergmann in 1976. It should be noted that he studied etching with Louis Kohnke-Duwell.
He was Guest Professor at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts, Reykjavik, Iceland in 1984 and 1985; Guest Professor of Grafikaan Paja, at Jyvaskyla, Finland in 1986; Guest Professor at the International Summer Academy of Fine Arts in Salzburg, Austria in 1987, 1990 and 1993; and Guest Professor at the International Summer Academy in Gera, Austria each year from 1995 to 2008.
Nagaoka spent more than twenty years in Germany before returning to Japan where he was a Professor at the Kyoto Seika University, Kyoto, Japan from 1991 until his retirement in 2012.
His work has been honored with numerous awards, including the Grand Prize at the Bulgarian International Graphic Biennial, in Varna in 1985, and was included in many solo and group exhibitions. Collections holding his work include the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, San Francisco; the Albertina, Vienna; Berlin Gallery; Cincinnati Art Museum; deCordova Museum in Lincoln, Massachusetts; Israeli Museum of Art in Jerusalem; Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Ibiza, Spain; National Museum Krakow; National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto; Portland Art Museum; and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
toshio yoshizumi
In 1978‑79, he attended the R.A. Print Studio in Granada, Spain.
He travelled quite broadly — Europe (Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium), Morocco, USA, also many other countries.
His work has been exhibited internationally: Multiple solo exhibitions in Japan and abroad (Romania, Bulgaria, Spain, etc.) and participation in international print biennials and triennials.
His series “Visage” (or “Visage – U / Visage F (Fulcrum) I & II” etc) is among his notable works. For example: Visage F (Fulcrum) I (1994) is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, Saitama. Art Platform Japan (APJ)
Awards: Among others, 1985 Honour Medal Award at the 4th International Biennial “Small Graphic Forms – Łódź” (Poland)
His work is held in museum collections and graphic art collections in various countries
toshimi Kitano
Toshimi Kitano (北野 敏美) is a contemporary Japanese printmaker born in 1951 in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. He studied at Shinshu University, graduating in 1974, and later pursued graduate studies at Tsukuba University. Kitano is known for his experimental and abstract approach to printmaking, combining various techniques such as etching, aquatint, and serigraphy to explore texture and transformation in visual form. His work often features geometric shapes and spatial interplay rather than figurative or narrative subjects.
Susumu endo
Susumu Endo was born in 1933. He is a leading Japanese graphic designer and printmaker. He introduced digital photography and plate-making technology to printmaking. He pioneered offset printing for printmaking, and since the 1980s, he has been creating new images using computer-generated image composition, transforming natural landscapes into aesthetic images. He has contributed significantly to the establishment of graphic artistic expression. His works have won numerous awards at national and international print exhibitions, are in the collections of the British Museum and other museums in Japan and abroad, and are highly regarded worldwide.