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SHINSUKE MINEGISHI
Artist & Printmaker

Minegishi's work presents an interesting amalgam of Western and Japanese printmaking traditions. Born and raised in Tokyo, Minegishi (b.1970) has lived and worked in Canada since 1994, establishing an international reputation for the technical skill and unique artistry of his printmaking. Receiving the Grand Prize at the 2003 Kyoto International Woodprint Association exhibition was just the latest success in the artist's still young career. His work has been selected for numerous group and solo exhibitions throughout the world. He also won first prize at the First Biennial International Miniprint Exhibition (Vancouver, 2000); received Canada Council grants; and is an instructor at Emily Carr Institute.

In explaining why he has chosen printmaking as his primary medium, it is interesting to note Minegishi's invocation of Leonard Baskin as a major influence, and that Baskin's first success was as a sculptor.

"Printmaking fits somewhere between painting and sculpture. The final image is two dimensional, yet the process of image making, such as carving a woodblock, scratching a metal plate, or etching a stone is quite three dimensional. I am attracted to that," Minegishi says.

Baskin's passion for creating books that combined wood engravings with letterpress and fine binding may also have been responsible for enticing Minegishi to try his hand at similar projects. In 2002 he was commissioned by Heavenly Monkey to cut six engravings, based on sketches by Hieronymus Bosch, to be used as illustrations for an experimental edition of H.P. Lovecraft's Shadow Over Innsmouth. These were subsequently reprinted in 2003, in a small volume titled The "Innsmouth Look", the first book to feature Minegishi's engravings printed from the original blocks. (Reproductions of his engravings have been used to illustrate three volumes of poetry by his mother, Ryoko Minegishi, published in Japan.) Copies of this book have been purchased by a number of international special collections libraries, including the British Library.

The success of the Innsmouth project encouraged Shinsuke to undertake a second commission from the studio, creating 10 botanical engravings to accompany Barbara Hodgson's Good & Evil in the Garden (2003). The project highlighted Minegishi's interest in small-format engravings, with intricate detail. Ars Anatomica (2004) was Minegishi’s next publication, presenting ten miniature engravings that combine studies of human anatomy with his signature abstract mindscapes.

Minegishi's most recent project is The Tale of Three Black Boxes, a book and companion suite of prints issued by Heavenly Monkey Editions in the spring of 2006.

Shinsuke Minegishi's work can be viewed at the Malaspina Printmakers Gallery in Vancouver. In the spring of 2006 he was included in a group show titled "30x30: New Directions in Printmaking" at the Burnaby Art Gallery, in British Columbia. His work also is included in a travelling show, which can be seen at the following locations during 2006:

Japanese Paper Museum Inomachi, Kochi Prefecture (April 29 - May 21)

Nagasaki Peace Museum, Nagasaki Prefecture (April 25 - May 14, 2006)

Pendulum Gallery, Vancouver B.C. (September 5 - 23)

The show will continue to Holland in 2007.

Address: Malaspina Printmakers Society, 1555 Duranleau St,
Granville Island, Vancouver, BC, V6H 3S3
E-mail: shinartist at hotmail.com (address in the
usual manner, using @ and no spaces).

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