Mokutani Yoshiaki

Mokutani Yoshiaki (杢谷圭章, b. 1980, Shizuoka Prefecture) is a Japanese printmaker working principally in copperplate intaglio — etching, aquatint and drypoint pursued with sustained attention to corrosion processes that yield vibrant colour and sharply incised line. He earned a B.A. from Meisei University's Faculty of Formative Arts (Department of Formative Arts) in 2003, then completed graduate studies in Printmaking at the Musashino Art University Graduate School in 2005. Since graduation he has maintained an active studio practice based in Tokorozawa, Saitama, in the greater Tokyo area, with regular exhibition output and participation in international intaglio events.

Mokutani's mature etching practice reconstructs fragmented imagery through layered printing methods that retain visible evidence of the corrosion-bath process — passages of irregular oxidation, deliberate plate-tone variation, and over-etched line are part of his vocabulary. The technical rigour of his approach places him within the contemporary Japanese intaglio community of his generation, and his exhibitions span major Tokyo-area print venues and international group shows.

In 2019 he participated in the Fifth Mezzotint Festival at the Yekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts in Russia — one of the principal international showcases for the mezzotint technique — and in the international group exhibition 'on paper without borders' at the Hieronim Łopaciński Library in Lublin, Poland. His group-exhibition record also includes 'Tokorozawa Art Currents' at the Tokorozawa Civic Cultural Center Muse (2020).

In 2020 he co-founded the ALABORA collective with fellow artists Otsuka Satoshi and Kawagoe Kenta. The collective's 2020 project and exhibition 'The Traced Line' (隣り合う片腕), presented at Yukobo Art Space in Tokyo in November 2020, brought the three artists' work into dialogue around the visual landscape and the decomposition of the seen scene. As ALABORA describes his contribution, Mokutani 'utilizes the characteristics of printmaking, breaking down landscape elements into basic formative elements like colour and line to extract the experience of seeing.'

In 2023 he presented 'Ikeda Toshihiko + Mokutani Yoshiaki' at Clear Gallery Tokyo, a two-artist exhibition that paired his etching practice with Ikeda Toshihiko's print work. His contribution reflected his continuing experimental approach to the corrosion process — multiple bath compositions, varied plate preparation, and layered printing that builds up dense chromatic surfaces through stacked transparent etching impressions.

Within the contemporary Japanese intaglio scene Mokutani is one of the more visible mid-career copperplate specialists. The combination of Meisei University foundation training, Musashino Art University graduate-level printmaking specialisation, ALABORA collective participation, and international festival circulation places him among the working Japanese intaglio printmakers whose practice extends the postwar Japanese tradition of corrosion-based printmaking through experimental colour and tonal techniques. His work is documented through Clear Gallery Tokyo, the Yukobo Art Space programme, and the ALABORA collective's own publications.