Ayako Rokkaku "Untitled3"

Untitled 3 marks Ayako Rokkaku’s third collaboration with traditional woodcut artisans. The artist has said that when creating original paintings for prints, she has “become able to paint with a freer state of mind, no longer bound by the format of printmaking.” This third woodcut is even more colorful and dynamic than her earlier works, with the large-eyed girl so central to Rokkaku’s imagery appearing as if caught in a whirlwind of luminous hues. The original painting was made by applying paint directly with her fingers in layered strokes. To fulfill her desire to “focus on the parts where colors overlap,” the artisans engaged in extensive trial and error to translate irregular and multilayered color effects into woodcut printing. This endeavor, in which Rokkaku and the artisans together pursue “new ukiyo-e” using techniques handed down since the Edo period (1603-1868), was captured in the documentary film The Baren and the Small Knife (scheduled for release in October 2025).