Koichi Yamamoto is an artist who merges traditional and contemporary techniques so as to develop unique and innovative approaches to the language of printmaking. His prints explore issues of the sublime, the atmosphere and fluid mechanics. Koichi has worked at many scales, from small and meticulously engraved copper plates to large monotypes.

In 2017, Koichi had a wonderful opportunity to further explore and expand his techniques in a variety of residencies. His intention was to create various forms to understand the dynamic and power of wind, using intaglio print methods that he had been working with. His residency at the Joshua Tree National Park took the work into the functional form of intaglio printed kites with traditional materials, such as bamboo from Hawaii and paper from Japan. The kites were flown in the wind of the Mojave Desert, where the behavior of those kites was then recorded.

Yamamoto’s kites are made from traditional materials such as bamboo (for flexibility) and translucent Japanese kozo paper (for lightness and strength). Before construction of a kite begins, each sheet of kozo is intaglio printed with his unique images visualizing the movement of water, air and atmosphere. The resulting kites combine arresting visual images, conventional craft methodologies and sustainable materials.

Koichi completed a BFA at the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon and later studied engraving at the Bratislava Academy of Fine Arts in the Slovak Republic. Koichi also studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Poznan, Poland and completed an MFA at the University of Alberta, Canada. In addition, he has worked as a textile designer in Fredericia, Denmark.

Koichi has exhibited extensively on an international basis. He has taught at Utah State University and the University of Delaware and is currently a professor at University of Tennessee, Knoxville.  

artist website: Yoichi Kamamoto