Fumio Kitaoka Research Landscape Prints

Fumio Kitaoka was known as a famous Japanese printmaker.In the great surge of Chinese and Japanese printmakingcommunication in1980’s. Kitaoka had been to and given lecturesin Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing and Zhejiang Academyof Art in Hangzhou. His printmaking works were introduced toChina by magazines and exhibitions. Kitaoka was well known byChinese audience and had a deep friendship with Chinese seniorprintmakers.The friendly comings of Japanese printmakers includingKitaoka promoted the two countries’ cultural communication andprintmaking education. The forms and techniques of his works hadquite an effect and inspirations to today’s Chinese watercolorprintmaking.After the large collections and systematically analyzing ofKitaoka’s landscape printmaking works, we can clearly find theregular patterns in images,compositions and colors and furthermoresome connections with western modern arts and Japanese Ukiyo-eprints.Maybe it was a historical certainty for Kitaoka’s well-knownas a cultural ambassador because of the wave of the reform andopening-up policy.The paper is trying to return to his originalconditions of creation as a printmaker on the basis ofsystematically analyzing Kitaoka’s works. It’s mainly discussinghow he selectively absorbed the forms of western modern arts andJapanese Ukiyo-e works and his vacillating in reality andabstraction. His attitude to printmaking creation and his process ofcultural choices probably bring new inspirations to our today’screation.