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Prints, Drawings and Artists’ Books by Yuji Hiratsuka on View in William Paterson University Galleries

Yuji Hiratsuka plays with the metaphorical aspects of his subjects and their settings by portraying the irony, paradox, and satire in people’s daily lives in Tall Tales: Recent Work by Yuji Hiratsuka, a solo exhibition that will be on view at the William Paterson University Galleries from November 3 through December 12, 2014. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on November 16 and 23, and December 7 from noon to 4 p.m. Admission is free. An opening reception for the exhibit will be held on Sunday, November 9, from 2 to 4 p.m.

In his solo exhibition, on view in the East Gallery of the University’s Ben Shahn Center for the Visual Arts, Hiratsuka presents a showcase of prints, drawings, and artists’ books from recent years.

“My prints explore the complex relationship of paper, ink, and etched plates to describe my thoughts, as well as the relationship which occurs between figures and space to express other human experiences,” Hiratsuka says. “The enigmatic figures I draw are reflections of human conditions…My figures also employ a state of motion or movement suggesting an actor/actress who narrates a story in a play. The images in my intaglio prints in this exhibit are little figurines in action. They are cheerful, joyous, and restless. They are all happy people.”

While precision is important in his role as master printer, Hiratsuka is also open to the uncontrollable nature of the printmaking process. “There are small transitions in my work from time to time, and my interest is always based on unpredictable texture that is printed from the etched surface of the copper plate.”

Hiratsuka was selected to receive the one-person exhibition as the grand-prize winner of the 2013 Ink, Press, Repeat: National Juried Printmaking and Book Art Exhibition, which presented works by professional printmakers and book artists and was held at the William Paterson University Galleries in spring 2013.

Hiratsuka was born 1954 in Osaka, Japan. He received a B.S. in art education from Tokyo Gakugei University (Tokyo Teachers’ University) in 1978. In 1985, he moved to the United States to pursue graduate studies in printmaking, earning a master of art degree at New Mexico State University and a master of fine arts degree at Indiana University. 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 work is in included in many public collections including The British Museum, United Kingdom; Tokyo Central Museum, Japan; Panstwowe Museum, Poland; The House of Humor and Satire, Bulgaria; Cincinnati Art Museum and Cleveland Art Museum, Ohio; Portland Art Museum, Oregon; The Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; New York Public Library, New York; and Freer/Sackler, The Smithsonian’s Museum of Asian Art, Washington, D.C.

Tall Tales: Recent Work by Yuji Hiratsuka is one of three exhibitions on view concurrently in the William Paterson University Galleries. The 2014 Ink, Press, Repeat: National Juried Printmaking and Book Art Exhibition, on view in the Court Gallery showcases prints and artist books’ selected by juror Susan Tallman, editor-in-chief of Art in Print. The exhibition 35 in 350: The Story of New Jersey, on view in the South Gallery, narrates the experience of living in New Jersey.

This exhibition is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. The William Paterson University Galleries are wheelchair-accessible. Large-print educational materials are available. For additional information, please call the William Paterson University Galleries at 973-720-2654.

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