Nakao Matsubara
Xylon 21 Naoko Matsubara USA
1970

About the Item

Xylon 21 Naoko Matsubara USA Woodcuts, two which are printed in color, 1970 2 of the 5 woodcuts signed in pencil (see photos) Five original woodcuts, two of which are signed in pencil With introduction entitled Honest Pinetree by Frizt Eichenberg The images are: The Quaker’s Meeting, double page woodcut cover on grey/green paper, signed in pencil, with usual centerfold Publisher: Sekton Schweiz de Xylon, Zurich Date: August 1970 Edition: 500 Sylvan Snow, double page woodcut (with usual centerfold), signed in pencil, dedicated and dated, depicting a forest Verso: Dragon, double page woodcut, with usual centerfold, depicting a dragon Indian Dancer, double page woodcut in black and green (with usual centerfold), depicting dancer Verso: Chinese Dancer. woodcut in red, depicting a dancer Condition: Very good, usual handling issues for paper portfolio Centerfolds as issued Signle filio: 19 3/8 x 13 1/2 inches Double folio: 19 3/8 x 27 inches Publisher: Sekton Schweiz de Xylon, Zurich Date: August 1970 Edition: 500 Provenance: Amity Art Foundation, Inc. A rare dedicated example with a dedication in pencil “For Frank” and dated 1970 Note: Matsubara graduated from the Kyoto University of Applied Arts in 1960. She then pursued an MFA in the School of Fine Arts at the Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh on a Fulbright Travel Grant, and since then has traveled extensively and taught at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn—a rare distinction for a Japanese woman. She also studied one year at the Royal College of Art, London. Currently she lives and works in Oakville, Canada. Naoko Matsubara’s style is influenced by her teacher Munakata Shiko (1903–1975), who worked in the mingei (folk art) tradition. Her works are part of the collections of many museums around the world such as the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Chicago Art Institute, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Albertina in Vienna, the British Museum in London, the Kyoto National Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress in Washington, the Hamburg Museum of Arts and Crafts, the Haifa Museum in Israel and the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney. She was made a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. (Courtesy of Wikipedia) Naoko Matsubara (1937 - ) Matsubara Naoko (松原直子) was born in 1937 on Shikoku Island into an old Shinto family, and grew up in Kyoto, where her father was a senior priest. She was educated at the Kyoto Academy of Fine Art (BFA, 1960); and was a Fulbright Scholar at what is now Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh (MFA, 1962). She was also a Special Invited Student at the Royal College of Art in London (1962). After travelling extensively in Europe and Asia, Naoko Matsubara returned to Japan for two years, before being lured back to the United States. There she worked as personal assistant to the late Prof. Fritz Eichenberg, and also taught at the Pratt Institute of Graphic Art in New York, as well as at the University of Rhode Island. Subsequently she lived in Cambridge, Mass. In 1972 Naoko Matsubara moved to Canada, and now lives in Oakville, Ontario. She has continued to be extremely active as an artist: locally, nationally and internationally. Since 1960 she has had some 75 solo exhibitions, in the USA, Canada, Japan, England, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Holland and Mexico. She has also participated in numerous group exhibitions. Public collections owning work by Naoko Matsubara include: Albertina, Vienna; Art Institute of Chicago; British Museum; Carnegie Institute; Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Cincinnati Art Museum; Detroit Institute of Art; Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University; Haifa Museum, Israel; Kyoto National Museum of Modern Art; Royal Ontario Museum; The White House, Washington DC; Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art; Yale University Art Gallery. Naoko Matsubara has published some 20 books and portfolios of her work, including most recently Tibetan Sky (Calgary: Bayeux Arts Publishers, 1997; Preface by the Dalai Lama); Tokonoma (Bath, England: Old School Press, 1999); and Konjaku monogatari (Tokyo: ALIS, 2002). Her work also includes a large mural and donor pillar for the new YMCA building in Oakville, Ontario (2003); mixed-media screens; and paintings. In 2005, the Royal Ontario Museum commissioned two large works from Naoko Matsubara for the Museum's Bloor Street window case. The artist generously donated a third work, Emerald Summer (2006). The three works (each 195 cm. high by 95 cm. wide) will be rotated at regular intervals into the outside window. This is the first commissioned artwork to be displayed on the Museum’s Bloor Street Plaza. Recent major exhibitions have been in Tokyo, Kyoto, Indiana, and Toronto (Royal Ontario Museum). Further exhibitions are currently being planned in Seattle and Tokyo; new books in process include In Praise of Hands. She also continues to travel widely; is frequently invited to speak about her work; and also publishes essays, in both English and Japanese. Naoko Matsubara’s work has been the subject of countless articles and reviews; documentary films (including two from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation); and several book-length publications: notably Mokuhan: The Woodcuts of Munakata and Matsubara (text by Joan Stanley-Baker; Victoria, BC: Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, 1976); Naoko Matsubara: Development of Artistic Style and Technique (text by Barbara Woodworth; MFA thesis, Harvard University, 1985);.and Tree Spirit. The Woodcuts of Naoko Matsubara (text by Arlene Gehmacher, Klaas Ruitenbeek and John M. Rosenfield; Toronto: Royal Ontario Museum, 2003). In May 2009, Ms. Matsubara received an honorary doctorate in Fine Arts from Chatham University in Pittsburgh. Courtesy: Carnegie Mellon University], Alumni press release of 11/2010, accessed 8/3/11

Creator:

Nakao Matsubara (1937)

Creation Year:

1970

Dimensions:

Height: 19.33 in (49.1 cm)Width: 13.5 in (34.29 cm)

Medium:

Woodcut

Movement & Style:

Abstract

Period:

1970-1979