Biography
Watarai Junsuke is a Japanese printmaker born in 1936 who is recognized for his refined work in intaglio techniques, particularly etching, aquatint, and soft ground. His prints often feature lyrical compositions exploring themes of music, nature, and the human figure, rendered with a delicate tonal sensitivity characteristic of the aquatint medium.
Watarai's work spans several decades of sustained printmaking activity. His oeuvre includes color etchings and aquatints on fine papers such as BFK Rives, produced in carefully controlled editions. Subjects range from floral compositions and birds to figurative scenes of musicians, poets, and performers, often imbued with a quiet, contemplative atmosphere.
His contribution to the landmark collaborative portfolio 'One Hundred Views of Tokyo, Message to the 21st Century' (1989-1999) is the work 'Tokyo Arabesque (Haneda Airport),' an etching, aquatint, lift ground, and soft ground print measuring 68 by 50 centimeters. This portfolio brought together one hundred Japanese artists to create individual contemporary views of Tokyo, echoing Hiroshige's famous nineteenth-century series. Watarai's choice to depict Haneda Airport reflects the city's identity as an international gateway.
Watarai's work has been exhibited at galleries and institutions in Japan and internationally, including Cedar Street Galleries in Honolulu. His prints are held in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago as part of the One Hundred Views of Tokyo portfolio.
Key Facts
- Active Period
- 1936
- Nationality
- 🇯🇵Japan
- Movement
- Contemporary Mokuhanga
Frequently Asked Questions
Watarai Junsuke is a Japanese printmaker born in 1936 who is recognized for his refined work in intaglio techniques, particularly etching, aquatint, and soft ground. His prints often feature lyrical compositions exploring themes of music, nature, and the human figure, rendered with a delicate tonal sensitivity characteristic of the aquatint medium.
Watarai Junsuke was active born in 1936. They were associated with the Contemporary Mokuhanga movement.
Watarai Junsuke'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.
Watarai Junsuke's prints frequently feature one hundred views of tokyo, architecture, airport.
Watarai Junsuke is a contemporary printmaker contributing to the ongoing tradition of woodblock printing. Contemporary prints offer collectors an affordable entry point into Japanese printmaking. Prices range from $100 for smaller works to $1,500 for major compositions. Most prints sell in the $200–$600 range. The contemporary printmaking scene is active and international, with artists exhibiting at galleries, art fairs, and print biennials worldwide.