Residence Project - Artist Statement

Mokuhanga is the only medium I've been using for the past five years. While I love this technique deeply, it's not easy to practice outside of Japan, as the best papers and wood plank come from here. Practicing mokuhanga in Japan is bliss and I want to profit the most from it. My plan is to work on a very large scale (90x60cm, which is also the maximum size the paper I've been using allows me), but also to study and use natural pigments and a traditional color palette.

[Exhibition] "Above me: a song of trees"
March 19th (Sat) - 26th (Sat) 12:00-19:00 @3331 Arts Chiyoda (Studio B108)
*Closed Monday & Tuesday

[Mokuhanga Demonstration & Opening Party]
March 18th (Fri) 18:00-20:00 (Demo begins at 19:00) @3331 Arts Chiyoda (Studio B108)
Please join us at the opening of Mara's exhibition for a reception and brief demonstration of carving and printing, as Mara creates a small print with a set of two blocks.

Profile

2012 MI-LAB Artist-in-Residence (40 days), Tokyo and Kawaguchico, Japan
2013 "Lights from the floating world" Solo Exhibition, Evvivanoè Gallery, Italy
2015 "From sky to foliage" Solo Exhibition, ArtePerVoi Gallery, Italy

Media Used: Mokuhanga, waterbased Japanese woodblock printing

Mara Cozzolino was born in Turin, Italy in 1975. After graduation, she started developing interest toward all printing techniques, practicing etching and intaglio for a long period. After working as illustrator, she become interested in Japanese waterbased woodblock printing and started practicing. She was soon selected to take part in an artistic residency at mokuhanga Innovation Laboratory (Kawaguchi-ko, Japan) and now works exclusively with mokuhanga and also teaches its techniques.