2023 ~ Koichi Yamamoto “Kaison”
15”x 15” image
Copper engraving on Fabriano Unica
Edition size: 95
This editioned intaglio print is titles as Kaisan. It is a Japanese word means “Opening Mountain”.
My intent to engrave on copper plate is to create a dynamic record of activity.
The potential motion and unfolded content are about to release. I hope to capture the feeling of anticipation. I hope this image is about to become something, right before recognizing what exactly it is.
Plate Techtronic create monumental earth surface. This is ongoing process that never stopped, and it will continue beyond human comprehension. Mountain is moving and this endless energy makes me feel very small. I feel what I can experience in this world is very limited and insignificant. What I think I know is very little. At least I can try to engrave on a copper plate to understand the essence of this uncertain condition.
Artist statement: Koichi Yamamoto Bisymmetry and Combinations
Copper engraving with burin is a simple intaglio process but brings complex visual language of values and forms. I am interested in discovering the illusion of unexpected forms with content that is made of such visual languages. My graphic works and kites represent an investigation for discovering dynamic quality from static symmetry compositions. For communication, my choice of vehicle is kite and language are printmaking. Folding print: this is an efficient way to create bisymmetric images. Intaglio printing releases an ample amount of ink from plate to paper and this makes it possible to reprint from paper to paper. Often this is called ghost print or second-generation transfer. Usually the “ghost” impressions are less contrast than the first impression. My approach is to create a deep engraving line to increase more space for the ink to make the second transfer as high contrast as the first impression. Next phase of development is to create another image on top of each other. Since two images have compositional agreement of bisymmetry, even an arbitrary combination can justify the synthesis. Visually balanced composition can be seen simultaneously and within the process of comprehension, the human mind tends to make sense of the whole. Third phase is to visualize the combination possibilities. The objective is to create “match making” with an available number of images. The potential combination is infinitive. I find this pattern is like genetic variability that occurs in the natural world. I use this idea to produce variability of images.
Bio:
Koichi Yamamoto (born in Japan 1967) is an artist who merges traditional and contemporary techniques to develop unique and innovative approaches to the language of printmaking.
He completed a BFA at the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon, and then moved to Krakow, Poland, later he studied engraving at the Bratislava Academy of Fine Arts in the Slovak Republic. Koichi also studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznan, Poland, and completed an MFA at the University of Alberta, Canada. In addition, he has worked as a textile designer in Fredericia, Denmark.
Koichi has exhibited extensively nationally and internationally. He has taught at Utah State University and the University of Delaware and is currently a professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Recent 1-3 person exhibitions include:
Joshua Tree National Park, Twentynine Palms, California, 2022
Sage Community Arts Gallery, Sheridan, Wyoming, 2022
Cartavtra Gallery, Florence, Italy, 2021
Creekside studio, Austin, Texas, 2021
Recent Juried exhibitions include:
Parkside National Print exhibition, University of Wisconsin, Parkside, 2023
Delta National Small Prints Exhibition, Arkansas State University, 2023
Beyond the Norm University Galleries of Illinois State University, 2022
