Karen Kunc : Printmaker - Concepts of Distance

Mokuhanga can be a standalone medium or combined with other artistic practices, offering endless opportunities for experimentation and creative exploration.

In this episode of The Unfinished Print: A Mokuhanga Podcast, I speak with printmaker Karen Kunc, who has worked with mokuhanga for many years. She integrates it into her broader printmaking practice, which includes book arts, mixed media, letterpress, Western woodblock, and more.

We discuss her early encounters with mokuhanga, her travels to Japan, and her experience printing with Akira Kurosaki. Karen also shares how nature influences her work, the importance of taking creative risks, and her perspective on mokuhanga today. Plus, we talk about her own Constellation Studios and its role in her artistic journey.

Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints or email me at [email protected]

Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase.

Artists works follow after the note if available. Pieces are mokuhanga unless otherwise noted. Dimensions are given if known. Print publishers are given if known.

Karen Kunc - website, Instagram 

Aqua Alta - 26" x 72", woodcut

Jocelyn Art Museum - is a fine arts museum located in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. The museum was opened in 1931. More info, here.

The Agony and The Ecstasy   - is a biographical novel by the American author Irving Stone (1903-1989). It goes into detail of the life of Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564). The novel was published in 1961. 

Awaji Island - located in Japan’s Seto Inland Sea, has a rich history dating back to ancient times. According to the Kojiki(Records of Ancient Matters), it is considered the birthplace of Japan—the first island created by the gods Izanagi and Izanami in Japanese mythology. Historically, Awaji played a vital role as a strategic hub for maritime trade and travel, connecting the Kansai region with Shikoku and Kyushu. During the Edo period, it was governed as part of the Tokushima Domain under the Hachisuka clan. Today, Awaji is renowned for its natural beauty, traditional industries such as Awaji Ningyō Jōruri (puppet theater), and its connection to mainland Japan via the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge—the world’s longest suspension bridge.

Kyoto Seika University - located in Kyoto, Japan, is a leading private institution specializing in art and design education. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs in fields such as painting, sculpture, graphic design, and manga. Known for its rigorous curriculum, Kyoto Seika emphasizes both practical skills and creative expression. With a strong tradition of nurturing talented artists and designers, the university fosters a dynamic environment that encourages innovation and artistic growth.

Akira Kurosaki (1937-2019) - was one of the most influential woodblock print artists of the modern era. His work, while seemingly abstract, moved people with its vibrant colour and powerful composition. He was a teacher and invented the “Disc Baren,” which is a great baren to begin your mokuhanga journey with. At the 2021 Mokuhanga Conference in Nara, Japan there was a tribute exhibit of his life works. Azusa Gallery has a nice selection of his work, here.

Aurora - 13" x 17" colour woodcut (1982)

 ukiyo-e - is a multi colour woodblock print generally associated with the Edo Period (1603-1867) of Japan. What began in the 17th Century as prints of only a few colours, evolved into an elaborate system of production and technique into the Meiji Period (1868-1912). With the advent of photography and other forms of printmaking, ukiyo-e as we know it today, ceased production by the late 19th Century. 

Utagawa Kuniteru (1808-1876) Sumo Wrestler (1861)

Peter Max - is an American artist who is associated with the American Pop Art movement of the 1950's and 1960's. He used vibrant colours in his work. Max's art was seen on posters, paintings, even running shoes. More info, here. 

Outer Spectrum - serigraph 8.75" x 12.5" (1978) 

Mary Brodbeck - is a mokuhanga printmaker, based in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She has been producing mokuhanga for nearly 25 years. Her work refelcts nature, and the power it contains. Mary's interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here. 

GAZE - 10" x 14" 

MI Lab - is a mokuhanga artists residency located in Awatabe Town, Echizen City, Fukui, Japan.  More info can be found, here. 

Center For The Science of Human Endeavor - also known in Japanese as 一般社団法人産業人文学研究所  is a program to "research, study, design for a life style in the 21st Century," and is associated with MI Lab.  There is a brick and mortar gallery located in Shinbashi, Tōkyō. 

McClains Woodblock Print Supply Co.  - based in Portland, Oregon, McClain's is the go-to supplier of woodblock print tools in the United States. Their website can be found here. The Unfinished Print: A Mokuhanga Podcast interview with Daniel Jasa of McClain's can be found here.

nishinouchi paper - is a Japanese washi which is produced in Nishinouchi Kami no Sato, located in Hitachiomiya City, Ibaraki, Japan. More info can be found, here. 

The Japanese Paper Place- is a Toronto based Japanese paper store servicing the mokuhanga and arts community in Toronto and around the world for many years. Nancy Jacobi of The JPP and her interview with The Unfinished Print: A Mokuhanga Podcast can be found,  here.

Constellation Studios - is the studio of Karen Kunc located in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. More info can be found, here. 

Penland School of Craft - is a school which welcomes students from all over the world. Located in North Carolina, the school offers eight-week workshops in many different types of mediums. More info, here. 

Anderson Ranch Arts Center - since the 1960s, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, located in Colorado, has been a beacon for the arts in the United States. The Ranch offers master classes, workshops, artist-in-residence programs, and more. For additional information, please click here.

Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA) - founded in 1971, is located at Mt. San Angelo in Amherst, Virginia. It provides residency opportunities for artists and writers across various disciplines, offering a supportive environment for creative work. More info can be found, here. 

Wayne Crothers - is an Australian mokuhanga printmaker, curator and artist who lives in Japan. 

Patricia Olynyk - is a Canadian multimedia artist, photographer,  who resides in The United States. Patricia's work explores the way " social systems and institutional structures shape our understanding of our place in the world." More information can be found, here. 

Oculus - digital sculpture 

Ralph Kiggell (1960-2022) -  was one of the most important mokuhanga practitioners. Originally from England, Ralph lived and worked in Thailand. Ralph pushed the boundaries of mokuhanga with extremely large pieces, jigsaw carving, and by using fantastic colour. He also worked with the International Mokuhanga Conference to promote mokuhanga around the world. He will be greatly missed. Ralph's work can be found, here. His obituary in The Guardian can be found, here. His interview with The Unfinished Print: A Mokuhanga Podcast can be found, here.

Park Winter

Tuula Moilanen - is a Finnish mokuhanga printmaker and painter based in Finland. She lived and studied in Kyōto from 1989 to 2012, where she learned her printmaking at Kyōto Seika University and from printmaker Akira Kurosaki (1937–2019). Her work can be found here. Her interview with The Unfinished Print: A Mokuhanga Podcast can be found here.

Daizuyama - 23cm x 34cm (2009) 

Kari Laitinen - is a Finnish artist and printmaker based in Finland. His works explore colour and dimension. More information can be found, here. He helped write, with Tuula Moilanen, the book Woodblock Printmaking with Oil-based Inks and the Japanese Watercolour Woodcut. It was published in 1999.

Dimensions VII - 48cm x 76cm (2017)

Venice Printmaking Studio - is a printmaking residency located in Murano, Italy.

Malaspina Printmakers - is a printmaking residency located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. MNmore info, here. 

Annu Vertanen - is a Finnish printmaker who has used mokuhanga in her work. Annu is currently a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Helsinki. 

Aspect Guanlan I - 95cm x 65cm 

© Popular Wheat Productions

Opening and closing musical credit - Bruce Springsteen, Atlantic City (1982). From the album Nebraska (Columbia Records)

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***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***