Biography
Aya Kikkawa is a Japanese-British artist and printmaker who studied at the University of the Arts London and works in mokuhanga, the traditional Japanese water-based woodblock printing technique. Her practice bridges her Japanese heritage with her experience in the British art world, and she has been deeply involved in mokuhanga education and community building.
Kikkawa is closely associated with the Karuizawa Mokuhanga School in Japan, where she manages the residency program, handling applications and supporting visiting artists with the practical and cultural challenges of living and working in Japan. Her role at the school has been noted for the generosity and humor she brings to supporting artists from around the world who come to Karuizawa to study mokuhanga. Karuizawa, her hometown, is one of the centers for mokuhanga education in Japan, offering intensive training programs for international practitioners.
As a printmaker, Kikkawa exhibited at the Fifth International Mokuhanga Conference in Echizen, Japan, in 2024, where her woodblock print 'Wind and Sea' was selected for the conference's juried international exhibition and shown among the European entrants — a classification that reflects her base in England. Her connections to Japan through the Karuizawa Mokuhanga School give her a position spanning both the Asian and European mokuhanga communities.
Her background in graphic design, combined with her hands-on involvement in mokuhanga education, positions her as a bridge figure in the international mokuhanga world. She brings a bicultural perspective that enriches both her own artistic practice and the community of artists she supports through the Karuizawa school.
Key Facts
- Nationality
- 🇬🇧United Kingdom
- Movement
- Contemporary Mokuhanga
- Works Indexed
- 1
Frequently Asked Questions
Aya Kikkawa is a Japanese-British artist and printmaker who studied at the University of the Arts London and works in mokuhanga, the traditional Japanese water-based woodblock printing technique. Her practice bridges her Japanese heritage with her experience in the British art world, and she has been deeply involved in mokuhanga education and community building.
Aya Kikkawa's work was shaped by the Contemporary Mokuhanga tradition in Japanese woodblock printmaking. Contemporary Mokuhanga: Contemporary mokuhanga (literally "wood-block print") encompasses artists working from approximately 1970 to the present who continue or reinvent traditional Japanese woodblock printing techniques.