Untitled work by Mara Cozzolino

Untitled within Cozzolino's catalogue, this print belongs to her self-directed body of mokuhanga produced from her studio in northwest Italy. Following the water-based Japanese method she adopted exclusively from 2011 onward, the work would have been built from blocks of cherry or shina plywood, each colour requiring its own carved and registered surface. Pigments are mixed with water and rice paste (nori), brushed onto the block, and transferred to dampened washi by burnishing with a baren — a workflow she carries out alone, from drawing through carving and printing. Cozzolino has spoken of mokuhanga's appeal in contrast to her earlier aquatint etchings: the absence of acid and press, the directness of hand-printing, and the quiet of the studio. Her untitled works tend to function as exploratory pieces within the broader output, where a recurring motif or technical experiment is pursued without the framing weight of a named subject.