Elizabethtown College will showcase 22 contemporary artists in its upcoming art exhibition “22 Views of Mokuhanga,” showing different takes on mokuhanga, a traditional Japanese woodblock printmaking technique. In Japanese, “moku” translates to wood and “hanga” translates to print.
The exhibit will be displayed from Sept. 21 through Dec. 1 in the Lyet Gallery, located on the second floor of the Leffler Chapel and Performance Center. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.
An opening reception for the exhibit will be held at 6 p.m. on Sept. 21 from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Lyet Gallery, and like the exhibit, is free and open to the public.
Most of the artists featured attended Mokuhanga Innovation Laboratory and were able to infuse their own cultural experiences into their work. Artists hail from the U.S., Japan, Finland, England and Poland. The exhibition includes work from Cameron Bailey, Katie Baldwin, Linda Beeman, Marta Boźyk, Mary Brodbeck, Eric Leif Conrad, Kathryn Desforges, Stella Ebner, Kevin Frances, Mokuhanga Sisters Collective, Matthew Willie Garcia, Takuji Hamanaka, Patty Hudak, Sarah Hulsey, Mike Lyon, Tuula Moilanen, Yoonmi Nam, Florence Neal, Mia O, Melissa Schulenberg, Chihiro Taki, and Stephen Winiecki.
Mokuhanga Demonstration with Featured, Visiting Artist Chihiro Taki | Wednesday, Sept. 27 from 11 a.m. to noon | Lyet Gallery, Leffler Chapel & Performance Center
Etown will also host featured artist Chihiro Taki on campus from Sept. 24 to Oct. 2. Taki, an artist of water-based woodblock print based in Tokyo and a professor at the Mokuhanga Innovation Laboratory in Japan, will give a demonstration on a Japanese woodblock print technique at 11 a.m. on Sept. 27. This event is free and open to the public. Taki taught Associate Professor of Art Kristi Arnold during Arnold’s 2018 residence at the Mokuhanga Innovation Laboratory. She has held multiple solo exhibitions in Japan and participated in many international group exhibitions and art fairs around the world in locations such as Japan, the United States, England, Australia, and Belgium.
“Events like these center on promoting cultural diversity, equity, and inclusion on campus, and expand current student curriculum and dynamic educational content,” Arnold said.
The “22 Views of Mokuhanga” exhibition coincides with the launch of Arnold’s new course, Japanese Printmaking and Sumi Ink, as well as the launch of Etown’s new Asian Studies minor.