TRPS and the Wise Collection Sale

Artist biographies

¨Shingo Honda (1944-2019) was known primarily for his subtle prints. He said, “White space is the real thing; color is the assistant.”  Other words that describe Honda are grace, sensitivity to space, and creating unified aesthetic experiences. 

¨Clare Romano (1922-2017) is a printmaker who with her husband, John Ross, wrote the definitive book, “The Complete Printmaker” in 1972. Clare’s works are in the Met, MoMA and Smithsonian. Her gallery owner said, “Ms. Romano, tended to landscapes and abstract - came from an era, the 1940’s, when art was literally a man’s world.” She taught at Pratt for a number of years.

¨Karin Broker (b. 1950) was teaching printmaking at Rice University, when Joanne Wise met her in 1982. We began the Texas Print Alliance, in Houston. We admired each other’s respect for the print work we were showing.  Karin continues with her etchings and drawings on conte on formica, graphite, steel as well as paper. 

¨Taika Kinoshita (b. 1957) has, since 1988, taken part in international print exhibitions. His innovative woodblock prints often entail using the back of the print to capture the wood surfaces.  He traditionally cuts fine lines into the block and then uses an intaglio method of printing – wiping to be sure the ink flows into the groves.

¨Fumio Tomita (b. 1934) brings intense color to his serigraph prints – harmonizing and clashing in forms that unifies rather than integrates them.  Francis Blakemore, a gallery owner in Tokyo, wrote about Fumio in a book entitled “Who’s Who in Japanese Prints.”

¨Keiko Hara (b. 1942) has taught for at Whitman College, Walla Walla (WA) until 2006. She received her MFA at Cranbrook in 1976.  Robert Morgan, NYC Art Critic and Curator wrote, “Given her considerable breadth and technical expertise … the complex layering of her images is often possessed with startling beauty.” 

About Joanne Wise

In 1976, Tokyo became home for her for four years.  During that time, she found friends who instantly felt a kinship in her taste for art.  In 1982, she moved to Houston (TX) and began The Wise Collection using the original artwork seen in a book entitled “Japanese Prints Today.” It helped to acquaint her to folks at the MFA in Houston as well as the curators at the Menil Collection. She began the Texas Print Alliance with a colleague at Rice University and Menil.

Joanne moved into the Upper Valley in 1993 having left Houston for Bronxville (NY) in 1985. She continued representing artists from Japan and America until 2005.