2023 Artworks (Mineral Pigments on Intaglio series)

The 2023 group consolidates Manabe's hybrid procedure: an intaglio plate, etched and inked in the European manner, then overpainted with iwa-enogu—the coarsely ground mineral pigments of Nihonga, bound in nikawa (animal-hide glue) and applied in successive layers. The etched line provides graphic structure; the mineral overlay introduces a matte, crystalline surface and chromatic granulation distinct from the values produced by ink alone. Each impression therefore exists as a unique work rather than as part of a strict edition, since the painted layer varies between sheets. This procedure reflects the dual training Manabe pursued at Tokyo Geidai—undergraduate work in the Japanese Painting Department followed by Master's-level Printmaking—and the techniques observed during her 2019–2020 ERASMUS+ residency in Poland, where intaglio remains a central pedagogical tradition. The series situates her practice within the small contemporary group reconciling Nihonga materials with Western print processes, alongside artists working at the boundary between painting and printmaking.