Biography
Maki Shimizu is a Japanese artist and illustrator born in Tokyo in 1981 who has been living and working in Berlin since 2006. She studied fine art in Japan at the University of Tsukuba, majoring in printing techniques, earning a Bachelor of Arts in design and creation in 2003. She subsequently completed a graphic design degree in Bielefeld, Germany.
Shimizu's artistic practice bridges Japanese and European visual traditions, working across illustration, woodcut, and ink painting. Her works executed in traditional Japanese woodcut (mokuhanga) and ink painting techniques reveal an intimacy of spontaneous expression, with her main theme being the way composition made up of bold and simple lines and color surfaces can create two-dimensional media that enables people to share deep emotions. As a visual artist, she focuses primarily on urban and everyday scenes, bringing a manga-influenced aesthetic to her printmaking work.
She participated in the 2024 International Mokuhanga Conference juried exhibition in the Asia regional section, where she exhibited alongside collaborator Yuko Suzuki. Her books 'Yuki 1' and 'Yuki 2' provide insight into her varied drawing style and her work with woodcuts. She has been featured at the International Literature Festival Berlin and through the Berlin Asia Arts Club.
Key Facts
- Nationality
- 🇯🇵Japan
- Movement
- Contemporary Mokuhanga
Frequently Asked Questions
Maki Shimizu is a Japanese artist and illustrator born in Tokyo in 1981 who has been living and working in Berlin since 2006. She studied fine art in Japan at the University of Tsukuba, majoring in printing techniques, earning a Bachelor of Arts in design and creation in 2003. She subsequently completed a graphic design degree in Bielefeld, Germany.
Maki 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.
Maki 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.