Art Galleries

This content was published: February 24, 2011. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.

Yuji Hiratsuka – Figures: Dialogue/Monologue

Cascade Paragon Arts Gallery

Yuji Hiratsuka – Figures: Dialogue/Monologue

Two Ten Nos (Two Celestial Nymphs), 2006, Intaglio, 36″ x 48″

  • Dates: February 24, 2011 to March 31, 2011
  • Artist talk: Thursday, March 3, 4-5pm in the gallery
  • Opening reception: Thursday, March 3, 5pm to 7pm
  • Hours: 9am-5pm, Monday – Friday

Yuji Hiratsuka’s exhibition consists of two bodies of work: one is original color intaglio prints and the other is works on paper with collaged intaglio prints. Despite the two different media, his main theme stays the same: human figures. The human bodies, which are often simplified, exaggerated and/or distorted along with other elements (fruit, vegetables, plants, etc.) have been his most recent focus. He is interested in expressing human conditions such as mood, feeling, and thought through ambiguous and whimsical figures. Moreover, the figurative images bear a slight resemblance to traditional Japanese Ukiyo-e prints which are frequently flat, bright and decorative. The figures also express contemporary aspects of the Western Hemisphere. Hiratsuka’s prints are an expression of his native Japanese culture combined with his current life in America.

Yuji Hiratsuka was born 1954 in Osaka, Japan. He was first educated in art at Osaka Ichiritsu Kogei High School (Osaka Municipal High School of Art & Industry) and the 4n Tokyo Gakugei University (Tokyo Teachers’ University). After receiving a B.S. in Art Education from the University in 1978, Hiratsuka taught art at several high and junior high schools in Osaka. In 1985, he moved to the United States to pursue graduate degree in printmaking at New Mexico State University (MA) and Indiana University (MFA). Since 1987 Hiratsuka has been teaching printmaking and drawing at several universities. He currently serves as a professor of printmaking at Oregon State University, Corvallis.

Hiratsuka’s graphic work has been exhibited in the Americas, Europe and Asia. He has received numerous awards in international competitions including most recently the Equal Prize at Majdanek 2000, VI International Art Triennial, Lublin, Poland. During the last five years he has had 13 solo shows in the United States, and international solo shows in Seoul, Korea, Quebec, Canada and Lisburn, N. Ireland.

Hiratsuka’s work is in included in many public collection including The British Museum in UK, Tokyo Central Museum in Japan, Panstwowe Museum in Poland, The House of Humor and Satire in Bulgaria, Cincunnati Art Museum and Cleaveland Art Museum in Ohio, Portland Art Museum in Oregon, The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. and The New York Public Library.

You can learn more about the artist at: