Shinoda Toko Lithographs
Information
- Number of items exhibited
- 38
- Period
- Sep 29 (Mon.) –Dec 20 (Sat.), 2025
- Closed
- 2nd and 4th Saturdays, Sundays, national holidays
- Admission
- ¥500, children through high school age free of charge
About the Exhibition
Shinoda Toko began working in lithography in the early 1960s, shortly after returning from her two-year stay in the United States, at the recommendation of artist Arthur Flory (1914–1972), who was visiting Japan from Philadelphia. This was at the time when she was energetically producing abstract works in sumi and beginning to explore new forms of expression. She continued working with lithographs thereafter, with printing by Kimura Kihachi (1934–2014) from 1963 onward, creating over 1,000 works over her lifetime.
Lithography, in which the artist can brush sumi directly onto the plate, allowing for application the same methods Shinoda used for expression with brush on paper, proved to be a printing technique reflecting as faithful as possible to the tonal variations of sumi and the nuances of brushwork she sought. Through the processes of plate preparation and transfer unique to lithography, unexpected lines can emerge due to the movement of water on the stone. After assessing the prints, Shinoda made a point of adding an original brushstroke or final touch to each one.
Writing in her book Sono hi no sumi (Sumi, Day by Day; 1983), Shinoda wrote,
Lithographs do not imprint the passage of time itself, but offer a space where the immediacy of the moving brushstroke can be and then brought back to life—imbued with the spirit of a person’s prayer. That spirit passes back and forth between the artist and the printer—the electricity that flows between them, zigzagging in all directions—is something that always delights a person like me, and that’s why I make lithographs.
For Shinoda, lithograph-making expanded her realm of expression and was an important part of her art.
In this exhibition, we exhibit lithographs created out of the trusting relationship between Shinoda and Kimura over more than forty years working together. Brought to life by those final individual touches added by the artist, these works signal the special appeal of Shinoda’s lithographs.