Yuki Ideguchi

出口雄樹

1986

Japan

Biography

Yuki Ideguchi (出口雄樹, born 1986) is a Japanese painter who fuses nihonga (Japanese-style painting) with street art materials and contemporary sensibilities. Born in Fukuoka Prefecture, he earned both his BFA (2007) and MFA (2013) in Japanese Painting from Tokyo University of the Arts, one of Japan's most prestigious art institutions.

Ideguchi's technique is deliberately heterodox: he combines traditional nihonga materials such as mineral pigments and gold leaf with spray paint, acrylic, and newly developed synthetic pigments to achieve effects impossible within conventional Japanese painting. The resulting works pulse with the energy of urban graffiti while retaining the compositional sophistication and material richness of classical Japanese art.

His Re-Hokusai series channels the spirit of Katsushika Hokusai's manga—the legendary sketchbooks that documented every conceivable subject in energetic brushwork—through Ideguchi's own expressive line, inventive compositions, and wry humor. The series positions him as a contemporary heir to Hokusai's restless creative ambition, reinterpreting the master's motifs with spray cans and acrylics alongside traditional brushes.

In 2017, Ideguchi appeared in the British Museum's documentary film on Hokusai, and in 2019, he led a workshop on Japanese painting at the University of Chicago. He has received grants from the Mitsubishi Corporation Art Gate Program, the Asahi Shinbun Foundation, the Japan Foundation New York, and the Yoshino Gypsum Art Foundation. He has exhibited in solo and group shows internationally since 2008 and currently lives and works in Kyoto.

Key Facts

Active Period: 1986
Nationality: 🇯🇵Japan
Movement: Contemporary Mokuhanga
Subjects: Nature Washi Landscapes Rivers & Lakes Seascapes Birds & Flowers
Works Indexed: 12

Frequently Asked Questions

Yuki Ideguchi was active born in 1986. They were associated with the Contemporary Mokuhanga movement.

Yuki Ideguchi'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.

Yuki Ideguchi's prints frequently feature nature, washi, landscapes, rivers & lakes, seascapes, birds & flowers.

Yuki Ideguchi 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.