青幻舎 SEIGENSHA Art Publishing

For Fujio Kawagishi, it all starts with paper. Gazing upon a sheet, holding it this way and that to admire its beauty, he will soon be moved to add to that beauty with something of his own. That something might not always be a painting of a blossom, but a few words in elegant block lettering; he might also trim and work the paper itself to craft a hand-bound book, or a scroll, or an envelope or playing card. Whatever he does, it is the desire to strike a harmony with the paper that he infuses into his works and that gives birth to his singular world, presented for all to take into their hands and enjoy intimately here in his first collection.

Fujio Kawagishi was born in 1952 in Gunma Prefecture and graduated in graphic design from Tama Art University. He began creating his Suika series of hand-illustrated books in 1977 while working at a design firm; the ten books were featured in the art and culture quarterly Ginka in 1989, providing the occasion for his first solo exhibition. This was followed two years later by another Ginka feature on a series of eighty-eight camellia paintings, and a second solo exhibition. A full-time artist since 1992, he now holds showings mostly in the Tokyo area.