CJS Thursday Lecture Series | Exploring Classical Mokuhanga Printmaking Using Laser-engraving and Bit-map Data

Endi Poskovic's creative practice in printmaking considers a range of technologies of reproduction as a way to explore certain characteristics of graphic image: translation, multiplicity, seriality. Through his visual work, Poskovic seeks to construct representations that suggest broader themes of exile, memory and reconciliation.

For many years, Poskovic produced his multi-plate color woodcut prints utilizing mostly traditional hand-carving to produce large scale mokuhanga prints. In recent years, Poskovic has expanded his practice to use both established and non-traditional methods, combing classical Japanese carving with laser engraving-printing from bit-map data files. For this presentation, Poskovic will discuss his "Dream Series" of color woodcut prints and the research conducted at the Mokuhanga Innovation Lab in Tokyo. He will share the results of his research into new technologies and how they intersect with traditional methods, as well as present mokuhanga tools, washi paper, finished woodcut prints, and other works in progress.

Endi Poskovic was educated in Yugoslavia, Norway, and the United States. His graphic works have been exhibited worldwide and have brought him many notable awards and honors, including grants and fellowships from the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the United States Fulbright Commission, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, the Norwegian Government, the Camargo Foundation, the Flemish Ministry of Culture, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the Art Matters Foundation, among others. Museum collections which hold works by the artist include the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Harvard University Fogg Art Museum, the Detroit Institute of Arts, Jincheon Art Museum, South Korea and others. Poskovic is Professor of Art and Design at the University of Michigan Stamps School of Art and Design.