The Emerging Lithographic Vision of MISAKI Akihiro - 見崎彰広

Moonlight 1, 2020, ed. 7, 24" x 22" price available upon request

Akihiro Misaki, a graduate of Geidai (one of Japan’s most prestigious art schools), stands as a distinctive voice in contemporary Japanese printmaking, with a mastery of lithography that merges technical precision with personal expression. When I saw pictures of Misaki-san’s mysterious and haunting prints, I immediately knew that I wanted to show his work to my clients.

In The Tokyo Gallery with Misaki-san,

The artist (b. 1987) has developed a muted aesthetic in his lithographs that somehow capture light - his monochromatic prints seem to glow from within - while he explores the depths achievable within the simplicity of the color black. What further distinguishes Misaki's lithographic prowess is his  exceptional control of the medium. Lithography, with its foundation in the enmity between oil and water, allows for extraordinary subtlety in tonal gradation and Misaki explores these qualities to their fullest, spending countless hours meticulously drawing his images onto their allocated aluminum plate. In their precision, his prints resemble pencil drawings.

Maze, 2020, ed. 9, 14.7" x 11.2" price available upon request

There is a contemplative quality to Misaki's luminous lithographs that invites slow looking and meditative pondering. Unlike prints designed for immediate visual impact, his works reveal themselves gradually. This aligns with traditional Japanese aesthetic concepts like "yūgen" (mysterious depth) and "ma" (interval or negative space), suggesting that what is unseen or merely implied may be as important as what is directly represented. While firmly rooted in traditional lithographic techniques, Misaki's approach nonetheless feels decidedly contemporary.

Misaki-san is presently teaching art at a junior high school and seldom can find enough time to produce large editions, so his edition numbers are extremely limited, as few as -- or fewer than -- nine. There are no number fours in his editions either. The artist skips this number (which is unlucky in Japan) - adding to the rarity of his work.

Misaki's work represents an important continuation of Japan's rich printmaking traditions, offering both technical excellence and conceptual depth. He creates serene works that serve as mindful havens in an increasingly frenetic world.

Milky Way, 2018, ed.8, 18.1" x 29.9" price available upon request