is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

mezzotint Mezzotint is a monochrome printmaking process of the intaglio (printmaking), intaglio family. It was the first printing process that yielded half-tones without using line- or dot-based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple. Mezzo ...

engraver and

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

Biography

Born in Koriyama,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in 1936, the youngest child of Iwaya Kanekichi and Kageyama Matsu, Tōru Iwaya went, at the age of 19, to

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. After he graduated from the Tokyo Fisheries (東京水産), now called

Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology , abbreviated as , is a national university in Japan. The main campus (Shinagawa Campus) is located in Minato, Tokyo and another campus (Etchujima Campus) is in Kōtō, Tokyo. History The university was established in 2003 with a merger of ...

( 東京海洋大学), at the age of 24, he moved back to Koriyama, where in 1965 at the age of 29 he married Keiko Sugano. In 1971 at the age of 35 he moved to Paris. There he studied under

Stanley William Hayter Stanley William Hayter (27 December 1901 – 4 May 1988) was an English painter and master printmaker associated in the 1930s with surrealism and from 1940 onward with abstract expressionism. Regarded as one of the most significant printmakers ...

at his studio

Atelier 17 Atelier 17 was an art school and studio that was influential in the teaching and promotion of printmaking in the 20th century. Originally located in Paris, the studio relocated to New York City during the years surrounding World War II. It moved ...

. In 1974 he exhibited some of his mezzotint works at the Galerie Genot in

the Marais The Marais (Le Marais ; "the marsh") is a historic district in Paris, France. It spreads across parts of the 3rd arrondissement of Paris, 3rd and 4th arrondissement of Paris, 4th Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements on the Rive Droit ...

near his own workshop.Adamson and Jackson: ''Footloose in France'', pp. 145–9. Tōru Iwaya went back to Koriyama in 1999 due to his wife's deteriorating health and his sister's mental illness. He continues his work and has begun teaching his techniques to young students at his workshop.

Awards

Société des Artistes Français The Société des Artistes Français (, meaning "Society of French Artists") is the association of French painters and sculptors established in 1881. Its annual exhibition is called the "Salon des artistes français" (not to be confused with the ...

: bronze medal, 1972

References

Bibliography

* Adamson, John, "John and the Marais copper-engraver" in Adamson, John, and Clive Jackson, ''Footloose in France'', Cambridge: John Adamson, 2023, , pp. 145–9 * Uematsu, Hajime (ed.), ''Mezzotints by Tōru Iwaya'', with foreword by Masami Ono and introduction by Teizo Taki. Tokyo: Oscar Art Co. Ltd

External links

Tōru Iwaya's Website

Video of Tōru Iwaya explaining how a mezzotint is made (Japanese)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iwaya, Toru 1936 births Living people Artists from Fukushima Prefecture Japanese artists People from Kōriyama