Craig Anczelowitz

Craig Anczelowitz is a New York-born artist and paper specialist whose creative practice bridges the worlds of printmaking, collage, and Japanese handmade paper. Trained with an MFA in both printmaking and papermaking, Anczelowitz developed an early passion for the material properties of paper that would come to define his career. His artistic roots in woodcut printing and hand papermaking provided the foundation for a practice that weaves together Western and Japanese aesthetic traditions in multilayered mixed-media compositions.

Anczelowitz's path to Japan began during his years at Kate's Paperie in Manhattan, where he managed the store's paper department and first encountered representatives from Awagami Factory, an eighth-generation washi paper mill located in Yoshinogawa Village on the island of Shikoku. After a period in Thailand running a design business specializing in home furnishings, interior design, and stationery, he eventually relocated to Japan and joined the Awagami Factory organization. As the company's first native English speaker, he became a vital bridge between traditional Japanese papermaking and the international art community, answering technical questions from printmakers around the world and working to demystify washi for Western artists.

Anczelowitz's own artwork merges art, design, fashion, and craft traditions in mixed-media collage works. His multi-layered tableaus weave visual narratives that draw cross-cultural parallels between his homes of New York and Japan, incorporating the delicate texture of Awagami washi paper as a fundamental material element. Drawing on found materials, vintage ephemera, fabric, and ink alongside handmade papers, his compositions explore themes of memory, impermanence, and cultural exchange. Recent series such as the Boro works reference the Japanese tradition of mended textiles, while his Meiji Beauty series layers historical Japanese imagery with contemporary collage techniques.

Beyond his studio practice, Anczelowitz plays a significant role in promoting mokuhanga and Japanese paper arts internationally. He coordinates the Awagami International Mini Print Exhibition, now in its third iteration, and manages artist residency programs at the factory. His work has been exhibited internationally, including 'Lines Across Paper' at ATT19 Gallery in Bangkok (2025) and 'Anczelowitz on Paper' at the F.I.G Print Festival in Bilbao, Spain (2022). His dual perspective as both a practicing artist and paper industry professional gives him a unique understanding of the material foundations underlying contemporary printmaking.