Antony Gormley

Antony Gormley, one of the UK’s leading sculptors, is known worldwide for works that explore the relationship between the human body and space. His sculptures are installed around the globe and can also be seen in Japan, including at Tokyo Opera City and in Osaka. For this project, he worked with the carvers and printers of the Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints to create an entirely new kind of woodcut print.

RAPT was conceived in June 2024, when Gormley visited the Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints in Tokyo. Drawing on his profound knowledge of Edo period (1603-1868) ukiyo-e and the context in which it was produced, he put the following proposal to the carvers and printers involved in the project

Antony Gormley proposed an approach in which he would brush ink onto each sheet to create the backgrounds. The carver would carve only the figure and the plateau on which it stands, and the printer would print that single block onto the prepared sheets.

Having the artist create the backgrounds by hand and then printing over them from a block was a method without precedent. However, Gormley’s insight and deep understanding of the medium brought this first attempt to fruition, opening up new possibilities for woodcut printmaking. The result is RAPT.

RAPT: Concept and Process

The new woodcut print RAPT, a collaboration between the internationally renowned sculptor Antony Gormley and the Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints, was produced through an unprecedented process devised by the artist.

The production process had the following stages.

Before production began, Gormley worked with the carvers and printers to test whether the bleeding effects he envisioned could be achieved on the Echizen kisuki washi, made from kozo mulberry, that the Adachi Institute uses. Once he had confirmed that the paper could produce the effects he wanted, it was flown to the UK, where he brushed the backgrounds onto each sheet individually.

During this testing process, he said:

“The challenge for me and the excitement is to bridge this... in a way tradition, a way of being and working with contemporary conditions. and that's an adventure but it's a necessary adventure.”

Taking these words to heart, the carvers and printers joined Gormley in rising to this new challenge. The completed work demonstrates what becomes possible when an artist’s original vision meets the highly refined skill of today’s master carvers and printers, opening up new horizons in woodcut printmaking.