Abstract Prints (2049)
Abstract prints represent a revolutionary departure in Japanese printmaking, emerging primarily through the sosaku-hanga (creative prints) movement of the mid-twentieth century. While traditional ukiyo-e and shin-hanga were rooted in representational imagery, abstract works embraced non-figurative composition, exploring color, texture, and form for their own expressive potential. The abstract turn in Japanese printmaking gained international recognition in the 1950s and 1960s, when artists like Yoshida Hodaka, Maki Haku, and Tajima Hiroyuki won major prizes at the Sao Paulo and Venice Biennales. These artists developed distinctive approaches to abstraction — from Maki's layered cement-and-ink surfaces to Tajima's vibrant geometric compositions — that drew on Japanese aesthetic principles while engaging with global modernist movements. The woodblock medium proved uniquely suited to abstract expression, offering possibilities for textural experimentation through woodgrain impression, selective inking, and the interaction between handmade washi paper and carved surfaces. Many abstract printmakers exploited the material qualities of the block itself, allowing the wood's natural grain to become an active compositional element rather than merely a vehicle for an image.
Artists Known for Abstract
Untitled from the series Ama-san
Photography
Going Out
Woodcut on washi
Verse - Imbuing in Blue
Lithograph with stencil
Diamond Grids in a Hexagon Shape
Mokuhanga monoprint
Dappled Light II
Mokuhanga on washi
In the Fold of the Sea
Japanese woodcut (mokuhanga)
Orb XI
Mokuhanga on washi
We Hold Space and Time Within Us
Mokuhanga installation
Layers
Woodblock print
Red 60
Mokuhanga
Dappled Light I
Mokuhanga on washi
Kasumi
Reduction woodcut mounted on western paper
The Star Festival
Collaged mokuhanga prints on paper
Meanwhile
Japanese woodcut (mokuhanga)
Dappled Light V
Sumi ink on Hosho paper (mokuhanga)
Dammerung
Mokuhanga accordion-fold artist book
Spaces
Woodblock print
Between Times
Mokuhanga accordion-fold artist book
Green Grid
Woodblock print
Sequence 3
Woodblock print
Stumps
Mokuhanga on washi
Phoenix Park Stag
Mokuhanga
Westward Ho
Mokuhanga
Embracing the Void
Mokuhanga on washi
Enclosed
Woodblock print
Tokyo Rhapsody
東京ラプソディ
Lithograph
Abstract
Woodblock print
Pisces, from the Zodiac Series
Woodblock print
Leo, from the Zodiac Series
Woodblock print
Virgo, from the Zodiac Series
Woodblock print
Taurus, from the Zodiac Series
Woodblock print
Libra, from the Zodiac Series
Woodblock print
Capricorn, from the Zodiac Series
Woodblock print
Forme No.15 Things Moving
Woodblock print
Untitled
Woodblock print
Fairy Tales in the Shell (Ichimoku-shu Vol 2)
Woodblock print
Poem 69-64
Woodblock print
Poem B
Woodblock print
Poem-Z
Woodblock print
Poem 70-26
Woodblock print
Proportion
Woodblock print
Poem
Woodblock print
Prints by Munakata: Treasured Things
Woodblock print
Machine Blossoms
機械の花
2019
Lithograph
IW-02
2025
Etching
Work 9-1
Woodblock print
Mask
Woodblock print
Le scope imparfait
不完全な器械
Engraving
Being Lured by Timbre
音色に誘われて
Etching
Holding 24-1
Lithograph
below ground-143
Woodcut
Touch-133
Cloth graph / woodblock lithograph
The Survival 4.0
Carborundum print
border 202501
Etching
Nexu's No O
Woodblock print
New Illusion
Woodblock print
Cinq heures moins le quart
Woodblock print
885
Woodblock print
Blue in the Mirror
Woodblock print
Incarnation (Raku)
Woodblock print
Related Subjects
Frequently Asked Questions
Abstract prints represent a revolutionary departure in Japanese printmaking, emerging primarily through the sosaku-hanga (creative prints) movement of the mid-twentieth century. While traditional ukiyo-e and shin-hanga were rooted in representational imagery, abstract works embraced non-figurative composition, exploring color, texture, and form for their own expressive potential.
Maki Haku, Onchi Koshiro, and Nana Shiomi are among the artists most associated with abstract in our collection. Browse the full list of artists who explored this subject above.
Hanga currently catalogues 2049 prints tagged with abstract, spanning ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, and sōsaku-hanga traditions where applicable.