Biography
Lynita Shimizu is a Japanese-American mokuhanga artist who has been creating woodcuts using traditional Japanese techniques since the mid-1970s, making her one of the longest-practicing non-Japanese mokuhanga artists in the world. Born in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, she graduated with a Fine Arts major from Westminster College in 1974. During her senior year, she was captivated by the allure of Asian arts, leading her to spend a transformative period at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Fascinated by the artistry of Japanese woodblock prints, Shimizu made the pivotal decision to move to Japan, where she underwent four years of intensive study under two esteemed masters, Tomikichiro Tokuriki and Yoshisuke Funasaka. During her time in Japan, she met her husband Katsumi, and they later moved to the United States, where they built a home and raised three children.
Shimizu is a nature enthusiast who often finds inspiration during extensive hikes, translating her experiences of the natural world into woodblock prints. Her artistic interpretation of nature does not aim for realistic transformation but rather seeks to capture the essence and spirit of the landscapes she encounters. She lives in Pomfret, Connecticut, where in addition to printmaking, she enjoys gardening, hiking, and playing piano.
Her work has been featured in the Lyon Collection, a major collection of Japanese woodblock prints, and she has exhibited at the International Mokuhanga Conferences in Nara (2021) and Echizen (2024). She is featured in Artelino's profiles of moku hanga artists.
Key Facts
- Nationality
- 🇺🇸United States
- Movement
- Contemporary Mokuhanga
- Works Indexed
- 25
Frequently Asked Questions
Lynita Shimizu is a Japanese-American mokuhanga artist who has been creating woodcuts using traditional Japanese techniques since the mid-1970s, making her one of the longest-practicing non-Japanese mokuhanga artists in the world. Born in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, she graduated with a Fine Arts major from Westminster College in 1974. During her senior year, she was captivated by the allure of Asian arts, leading her to spend a transformative period at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Lynita Shimizu'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.
Lynita Shimizu is a contemporary printmaker working in the mokuhanga (Japanese woodblock) tradition. Their work contributes to the living tradition of Japanese woodblock printing. Prices for contemporary mokuhanga prints range from $100 for smaller works to $1,500 for major compositions. Most prints sell in the $180–$600 range. The global mokuhanga community has been growing, with increasing exhibition opportunities and collector interest. Contemporary mokuhanga represents an affordable entry point for collectors.
