Art Walk Exhibit and Sale: 19th & 20th Century Oriental Art

As part of Binghamton's First Friday Art Walk the Connelly Gallery at 205 State St, Binghamton, NY 13901-2711 will hold an exhibit and sale of 19th & 20th Century Oriental Art: Woodblock Prints and Other Media by Artist Paul Jacoulet (1896-1960) and Others on Friday, April 7, 2006 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. Also on display: Easter Bonnets and a Collection of Retro-Vintage Chapeaus by Milliner Audrey O. The exhibit and sale of 19th & 20th Century Oriental Art will continue through April 28, weekdays from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and at other times by appointment (Telephone: 607-722-9593).

Born in France but raised in Japan, Paul Jacoulet (1896-1960) is the rare artist whose work is not easily categorized. His Japanese woodblock prints, like those at the Connelly Gallery, mix exquisitely executed ukiyo-e printmaking with new and extravagant techniques of his own invention.

Jacoulet's prints memorialize his trips to the South Pacific Islands, and his travels through Korea, Manchuria and, of course, Japan. Most are portraits, or show small groups of people. Unlike his earlier, more realistic woodblock prints, his postwar efforts typically depict scenes of fantasy. His lifestyle, too, became fanciful and flamboyant after World War II. Dressing in kimonos, he often wore the white, rice-paste face makeup of the geisha, and powdered his lips.

His prints were elaborate technical efforts, sometimes requiring 50 or more blocks. Eschewing the normal Japanese washi paper, he preferred special watermarked papers from Kyoto which he printed using embossing, lacquers, micas and metal pigments. He also experimented with powdered semi-precious stones and other new techniques. Known for exacting technical requirements, he worked with only the best professional engravers and printers, whose seals appear in the margins of his prints. Click for a slideshow of selected works by Paul Jacoulet on exhibit at the Connelly Gallery.