Untitled

A water-based woodblock print by Karen Pittman, presented untitled in the manner that has become common in contemporary mokuhanga practice. The mokuhanga process — distinct from European relief printing in its use of water-soluble pigments rather than oil-based inks — relies on dampened [washi](/glossary/washi), hand-applied pigment with a brush rather than a roller, and a [baren](/glossary/baren) rubbed over the back of the paper to transfer the image. One technical capacity associated with the medium is [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi), the graduated wash produced by loading a single block with multiple pigments or with pigment and water and drawing them across the surface before printing; another is the controlled translucency that comes from overprinting multiple thin layers, allowing colors beneath to remain visible through those above. Pittman was selected for the 2024 IMC Americas exhibition staged in Echizen, the Fukui paper-making region long associated with the production of washi for traditional Japanese printmaking.