Iwao Akiyama

Listing 183 Works   |   Viewing 1 - 12
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Iwao Akiyama _765 Physician
#765 Physician , 1996
Woodblock Print
18 x 12 in
SOLD
Iwao Akiyama _167 - Following the Stream
#167 - Following the Stream , 1990
Woodblock Print
14 x 9 in
$750
Iwao Akiyama _177-2 Grass Grows
#177-2 Grass Grows , 1978
Woodblock Print
18 x 12 in
$750
Iwao Akiyama _193 The Three Botsatsu
#193 The Three Botsatsu , 1978
Woodblock Print
25 x 19 in
$950
Iwao Akiyama _196-1 Spanish Botsatsu
#196-1 Spanish Botsatsu , 1978
Woodblock Print
19.5 x 13 in
$500
Iwao Akiyama _196-2 Spanish Botsatsu
#196-2 Spanish Botsatsu , 1978
Woodblock Print
19.5 x 13 in
$650
Iwao Akiyama _301
#296 Snow Trekking , 1992
Woodblock Print
25.5 x 18.75 in
$750
Iwao Akiyama _382 - Monk Before Mountains
#382 - Monk Before Mountains , 1992
Woodblock Print
18 x 12 in
$650
Iwao Akiyama _395 - A Promenade
#391 - Little Owl , 1992
Woodblock Print
12 x 10.5 in
$500
Iwao Akiyama _408 Family
#408 Family , 1979
Woodblock Print
12 x 18 in
$800
Iwao Akiyama _416 - Gems
#416 - Gems , 1981
Woodblock Print
19.5 x 12.5 in
$800
Iwao Akiyama _423 - Cute Little Boys
#423 - Cute Little Boys , 1988
Woodblock Print
12 x 18 in
$750
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Iwao Akiyama

Iwao Akiyama

Iwao Akiyama Biography

Iwao Akiyama born March 21, in 1921 in a small village in Oita prefecture. At the age of 8 he received drawing lessons by a Buddhist monk, later graduating from the school of Taiheiyogakai in 1956. Trained in oil painting, the young artist turned to woodblock printmaking when he met Shiko Munakata. Akiyama studied with him from 1959 to 1965. The influence of his master on his style is evident.

 The artist is famous for creating woodcut images of both animals and human figures, usually rendered in a somewhat whimsical and naive-seeming fashion. Another hallmark is the use of relatively coarse folk-papers which reveal bits of brown bark from the mulberry bush.

Often, Akiyama evokes innocence and playfulness in his designs, giving an owl or other animals human attributes. Some prints will incorporate philosophical haiku poems. Taneda Santoka (1882-1940) was a revered itinerant Zen Buddhist monk, whose work is often included in Akiyama's prints. One might see the calligraphy of these poems boldly presented with a lonely priest climbing a hill, a humorous bull, or a pensive nude maiden

 

 

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