Andreas Marks

Presenting classic Japanese woodblock prints, Japan Journeys offers a unique perspective on the country's most famous travel destinations.This stunning art book gathers together approximately two hundred Japanese woodblock prints depicting scenic spots and cultural icons that still delight visitors today. Many of the prints are by masters such as Utagawa Hiroshige, Kitagawa Utamaro, and Utagawa Kunisada, and currently hang in prestigious galleries and museums worldwide. Katsuhika Hokusai, the artform's most celebrated artist, is also well represented, with many prints from his "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido Road" series and "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji" series, including his world-renowned "Great Wave" print. In addition to prints showcasing Japan's natural beauty, this carefully curated selection depicts roads and railways; favorite pastimes, such as blossom viewing and attending festivals; beloved entertainment, such as kabuki theater; the fashions they wore, and the food they ate. Author Andreas Marks is a leading expert on Japanese woodblock prints, and his Illuminating captions provide background context to the scenes depicted.

Modern Twist explores the evocative, sensual, and sculptural power of contemporary bamboo art. Bamboo is a quintessential part of Japanese culture, shaping the country's social, artistic, and spiritual landscape. Although bamboo is an abundant natural resource, it is a challenging artistic medium with fewer than 100 professional bamboo artists in Japan today. Mastering the art form requires decades of meticulous practice while learning how to harvest, split, and plait the bamboo. Modern Twist features 17 of these artists and 38 of their innovative and imaginatively crafted sculptures. Two of the artists have been named Living National Treasures by the Japanese government: Katsushiro Soho and Fujinamu Noboru. Modern Twist celebrates artists who have helped to redefine a traditional craft as a modern genre, inventing unexpected new forms and pushing the medium to new levels of conceptual, technical, and artistic ingenuity.