Collection: Yoshida Hodaka

Yoshida Hodaka (1926-1995), a pioneer and leader of early Japanese modern printmaking, is known for his surreal, mythical, and abstract prints. This exhibition explores the AAM collection of 45 prints by Hodaka and 14 artworks by his family to contextualize his prints. As a prominent member of the Yoshida family of Japanese print artists, Hodaka both paid homage to the centuries-old woodblock print tradition and blazed his own path as a modern printmaker. Hodaka, who had been experimenting with abstraction, was inspired by Sosaku hanga (creative print) that achieved international recognition and became the mainstream of the Japanese modern print movement by the mid-20^th century. Rebelling against the Yoshida family artistic style of realistic woodblock prints, Hodaka employed collage and photoetching techniques to establish his own style. Inspired by his travel abroad, Hodaka’s prints of abstract shapes, collaged landscapes, and ruinous walls all point to his personal struggle to identify and connect to the wider world through his creative practice.