Biography
Tomasz Kawelczyk is a Polish printmaker and academic based in Lodz, Poland, whose practice bridges traditional European woodcut techniques with Japanese mokuhanga. He studied at the Faculty of Graphics and Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Lodz and has been working at his alma mater since 2009, first as an assistant professor and then as Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts. He also holds a doctorate.
Kawelczyk's artistic research focuses on combining original woodcuts with the Japanese byobu (folding screen) format, creating spatial graphic objects that extend printmaking beyond the flat page into three-dimensional installation. His 2019 body of work explored the structural and conceptual possibilities of merging woodblock printing with the traditional screen format, investigating how prints can function as architectural and sculptural elements in space.
His interest in Japanese printmaking techniques and materials has led him to adapt mokuhanga methods using locally sourced Polish tools and materials, exploring how the water-based Japanese printing tradition can be reinterpreted within a Central European context. This research-through-practice approach reflects the broader international mokuhanga movement's emphasis on cross-cultural exchange and material experimentation.
Kawelczyk's work was selected for the Sumi-Fusion Juried International Exhibition at the 2021 International Mokuhanga Conference (IMC 2021), held in Nara, Japan. He also leads workshops and organizes educational programs in printmaking at the Academy of Fine Arts in Lodz.
Key Facts
- Nationality
- 🇵🇱Poland
- Movement
- Contemporary Mokuhanga
Frequently Asked Questions
Tomasz Kawelczyk is a Polish printmaker and academic based in Lodz, Poland, whose practice bridges traditional European woodcut techniques with Japanese mokuhanga. He studied at the Faculty of Graphics and Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Lodz and has been working at his alma mater since 2009, first as an assistant professor and then as Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts. He also holds a doctorate.
Tomasz Kawelczyk'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.