Ukiyo-e, which translates to 'images of the floating world,' describes a genre of woodblock prints which flourished during Japan's Edo period.

 

Often depicting scenes of everyday life, Ukiyo-e prints were extremely popular amongst Japan's middle class,  populating a new market of easily-accessible artwork. Abroad, these prints had a profound impact on European and American Impressionists, who also sought to capture the ephemeral,  fleeting world in their work.

 

Today, few artists practice traditional Ukiyo-e printmaking with the fidelity and inventiveness of Austin, Texas artist Daryl Howard. Howard came to woodblock printmaking whilst teaching art in Tokyo in the 1970s. It was then that she was introduced to a private collection of 18th and 19th century Ukiyo-e woodcuts. Feeling an immediate connection to these works and desiring to learn more about the woodblock printmaking process, Howard embarked on an apprenticeship with Master Printmaker Hodaka Yoshida.

 

This exhibition presents a retrospective of Howard's work, in particular depictions of her home state, complimented by influential antique Japanese prints from the artist's own collection.