Michael Verne : Gallerist - Your Eyes And Your Heart

Positivity is at the heart of any kind of success. A desire to succeed, paired with a positive mindset, good friends, and hard work, can create momentum and growth in any direction you choose.

On this episode of The Unfinished Print, a Mokuhanga Podcast, I speak with Michael Verne, a gallerist specializing in Japanese prints and paintings. Michael shares his approach to success, the power of positivity in business, and how he navigates the ups and downs of running a small, focused gallery.

Through rich stories, both his own and those of the artists he represents, Michael offers insight into how storytelling shapes his business, sustains its growth, and supports educating people about mokuhanga and Japanese art.

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

Michael Verne and The Verne Collection - website

The Metropolitan Museum of Art - is the largest art museum in North and South America. It began to be assembled by John Jay (1817-1894) in the late 19th century. Incorporated in 1870, the museum has collected many essential pieces, such as the works of Henri Matisse (1869-1954) and Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919). For more information about the MET, you can find it here.

Daniel Kelly - is a visual artist and printmaker based in Kyoto, Japan. Daniel Kelly has shown all over the world, and is many museum collections as well. More information can be found, here.

 

Morning Calm (1983) 14.5" x 20.5"

Tomikichirō Tokuriki (1902-2000) - was a Kyoto based mokuhanga printmaker and teacher. His work touched on many themes and styles. From “creative prints” or sōsaku hanga in Japanese, and his publisher/printer prints, or shin hanga prints of traditional Japanese landscapes. 

Dance of Shimazu (1950's) 

Sanford Smith and Works On Paper Exhibit - Sanford Smith (1939-2024) was one of the more important New York City art promoters of his time. Founding Sanford L. Smith + Associates, Sanford Smith created many art fairs such as the Works On Paper show, now known as Art On Paper which focused on works on paper such as prints, watercolours and photographs. More information can be found, here.  

Willy Loman - is a fictional character in the novel Death of as Salesman by Arthur Miller, first published in 1949.

Sadao Watanabe (1913-1996) - was a stencil and dyeing printmaker (katazome 型染め) from Japan. His works were specifically Biblical in nature. His work was also in stained glass which can be found in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. 

Eve (1965) 

John Carroll University - is a private Jesuit University located in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio, USA and founded in 1886. 

New Heights Podcast - is a podcast hosted by American football players Jason and Travis Kelce. It is produced by Michael Verne's son Brian Verne who is the CEO of Wave Sports and Entertainment.

The Armoury Show - is an annual international art fair held in New York City, primarily focusing on contemporary art by living artists, but also featuring works by 20th-century masters.

Pace Gallery -  is a gallery located in New York City and founded in 1960. Today the gallery is a leader in exhibiting some of the top artists in their media. There are galleries in London, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Seoul, Geneva and East Hampton. More information can be found, here.

Joel Stewart - is an American visual artist based in Kyoto, Japan.  Joel works in ceramics, installation, printmaking and mixed media. More information about Joel can be found, here. 

Karatsu (2016) watercolour on paper 30" x 22"

Quiet Elegance - is a book published by the Charles E. Tuttle Company in 1997 written by Betsy Franco and Michael Verne. The Charles E. Tuttle Company is now called simply Tuttle. 

Dan Rather - is an American journalist who was the head anchor of the CBC Evening News from 1981 - 2005. 

Joshua Rome -  is an American mokuhanga printmaker based Vermont after spending many years in Japan. His themes are of landscapes and the human condition. More information can be found, here. 

Mixing Hours (1998)

shibui (渋い) - is a Japanese concept that refers to a subtle, simple, and refined beauty.

Yuko Kimura - is a contemporary printmaker based in California who used etching, aquatint, monotype, indigo dye, and cyanotype on pleated, stitched or twisted paper for her works. Yuko creates process videos on her website so you can see her process of her complex works. More information can be found, here.  

Fusion no. 22 2010 etching and enamel on copper in abaca handmade paper 8" x 6" 

wabi sabi - is a traditional Japanese aesthetic concept that embraces the beauty of imperfection, impermanence, and simplicity. Rooted in Zen Buddhism, it values natural materials, asymmetry.

Takauchi Seihō (1864 - 1942)-  was a painter of Nihonga. His paintings were famous because of his travels to the West and the influences gathered from that. More information can be found, here. 

Spring and Autumn (left screen) c 1889

Allen Memorial Art Museum - is an art museum located in Oberlin, Ohio and was founded in 1917. 

Katustori Hamanishi -  is a mezzotint artist known for his diptychs , triptychs and quadtychs. More information can be found, here. 

Cosmos Field (2022) 23.75" x 17.75" mezzotint

Shigeki Kuroda - is a visual artist who works in aquatint, mezzotint, drypoint, and etching. For more information about his work can be found, here. 

Mild Breeze (1953) 25.1" x 18.1" etching and aquatint

Clifton Karhu (1927-2007) -  was a mokuhanga printmaker based in Japan. Karhu lived in Japan for most of his life after studying with Tetsuo Yamada and Stanton Macdonald-Wright. HIs themes were of his home city of Kyoto, Japan. More information can be found, here. 

Katsura Moonlight (1982) 15.75" x 11./81"

Tollman Collection  - is a well known Japanese art gallery located in Daimon, Tokyo, Japan. More information can be found, here. 

Toko Shinoda (1913-2021) - was a Japanese visual artist who was made famous for her works in Sumi ink paintings and prints. More information can be found, here. 

Winter Green (1990) ink on paper

Hideo Takeda -  is a Tokyo based graphic illustrator, mokuhanga printmaker, and all around artist who challenges what it means to be an artist in this modern world. More information can be found, here.  

Green (2009) Painting 13" x 9.5"

Sarah Brayer - is a visual artist who is based in Kyoto, Japan. Her works are predominantly poured Japanese paper (washi). Sarah was the first Western artist to work at the Taki paper mill in Echizen. This is where she currently make her paperworks. Sarah have worked continuously in Echizen since 1986 as the only Western artist to do so. Sarah Brayer has also produced mokuhanga in her career. More information can be found, here. 

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Sea Meets Sky (Japan Blue Series) woodblock monotype, chine colle, 16" x 14"

Cameron Bailey - is a mokuhanga printmaker based in Queens, New York. His mokuhanga technique is in reduction where Cameron creates beautiful and powerful landscapes. More information can be found, here. 

Tempest (2025) 16" x 24" 

Shirō Kasamatsu (1898–1991) was a mokuhanga print designer during the shin-hanga movement of the early 20th century, and later focused on his own mokuhanga printmaking during the sōsaku-hanga period of the 1950's. More information can be found, here. 

Co

Corridor (1960's/1970's) oban 10"x 15"

Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950) - a watercolorist, oil painter, and woodblock printmaker. Is associated with the resurgence of the woodblock print in Japan, and in the West. It was his early relationship with Watanabe Shōzaburō, having his first seven prints printed by the Shōzaburō atelier. This experience made Hiroshi believe that he could hire his own carvers and printers and produce woodblock prints, which he did in 1925. 

The Acropolis At Night (1925) 10.13" x 16.5"

Kawase Hasui (1883-1957), a designer of more than six hundred woodblock prints, is one of the most famous artists of the shin-hanga movement of the early twentieth century. Hasui began his career under the guidance of Kaburaki Kiyokata (1878-1971), joining several artistic societies early on. However, it wasn’t until he joined the Watanabe atelier in 1918 that he began to gain significant recognition. Watanabe Shōzaburō (1885-1962) commissioned Hasui to design landscapes of the Japanese countryside, small towns, and scenes of everyday life. Hasui also worked closely with the carvers and printers to achieve the precise quality he envisioned for his prints.

Mishima River, Mutsu (1919) 14" 9" 

Shibata Zeshin (1807 - 1891) - was a laquer ware painter and print designer during the 19th Century. 

Album of Lacquer Pictures by the Venerable Zeshin (1887) 6.5" x 7" 

Kiyoshi Saitō (1907-1997) - was a Japanese woodblock printmaker and artist who worked in the sōsaku hanga style of mokuhanga. HIs fame outside of Japan was fairly comprehensive with his peak fame being in the 1950’s and 1960’s. For a comprehensive book on his life and times, Saitō Kiyoshi: Graphic Awakening published by The John & Mable Ringling Museum is an excellent source. Can be found, here. Lecture by Dr. Paget about Saitō can be found, here. My interview with Professor Paget can be found, here. 

Otaru, Hokkaido (1948) 18" x 24"

Munakata Shikō (1903-1975) - arguably one of the most famous modern printmakers; Shikō is renowned for his prints of women, animals, the supernatural and Buddhist deities. He made his prints with an esoteric fervour where his philosophies about mokuhanga were just as interesting as his print work. 

Princess Showing Upper Arm (1958) 9" x 7.5"

Sekino Jun'ichirō (1914-1988) - was a mokuhanga printmaker who helped establish the sōsaku hanga, creative print movement in Japan. His themes were of landscapes, animals and the abstract. Sekino exhibited and became a member with Nihon Hanga Kyōkai and studied with Ōnchi Kōshirō (1891-1955) and Maekawa Senpan (1888-1960). 

Cats and There Kittens (1960) 18" x 13"

Katsuyuki Nishijima - is a contemporary mokuhanga printmaker based in Japan who carves and prints his own work. His prints are colourful and focused on the Japanese landscape. More information can be found, here. 

Moon Over Lake 10.25" x 14.75"

Mayumi Oda - is a Buddhist teacher and artist based in Hawai’i. Her artwork has gained international recognition, having traveled worldwide. In addition to her artistic pursuits, Mayumi is an environmental activist and resides and works at Ginger Hill Farm, an eco-retreat on the Big Island of Hawai’i. Explore more about Mayumi Oda’s work, here.

Bell Telephone (1976)  21" x 15" colour screen print 

Nicholas Cladis - is an artist and paper historian who teaches and lives in Iowa. He lived in Echizen from 2014-2020 where he studied how to make washi, taught at the Fukui Prefectural University, as well as being the International liaison for the paper making union. More info can be found on his website, here. You can find Nicholas' episode with The Unfinished Print, here. 

Craig Anczelowtiz - is a mixed media collage artist who splits his time between New York and Japan. Craig's works focus on Japenese themes and nostalgia. More information can be found, here. 

Meiji Beauty #8 (2025) vintage Japanese papers, gouache, plexi, gold leaf, and ink on thick washi 20" x 28" 

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Opening and closing musical credit -Next Journey by Robomoque (2023) on Gunn-R-Rotation Records 

logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny 

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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.***