Sosaku hanga achieved international recognition in the 1950s and 60s. The Pensacola Museum of Art (PMA) presents "Sosaku Hanga: Modern Japanese Prints" in the Lewis Bear Family Galleries. The exhibition opened Feb. 1 and runs through Saturday, April 26.

This exhibition, of approximately twenty-six works, displays a wide variety of subjects, techniques and artists representing the "sosaku hanga" movement in printmaking. The "sosaku hanga" movement, originating in Japan, achieved international recognition in the 1950s and 60s. The stunning works presented in this exhibition create a vivid picture of the eclecticism and renovation of Japanese printmaking in the midtwentieth century.

Two schools of printmaking existed in twentieth-century Japan: "shin hanga" and "sosaku hanga." "Shin hanga" (new prints) continued the traditional "ukiyo-e" subjects and workshop method of print making, but with a new Western influence.

This exhibition focuses on "sosaku hanga" (creative prints), where the method was more fully Westernized in style, blending Japanese aesthetics with international trends in art, especially European methods of painting and printmaking. The artist did everything himself: selected the paper, carved his design in the wood blocks, mixed the pigments, printed the images and marketed the prints.

The artists include several of the major printmakers of the movement, such as Koshiro Onchi (1891-1955) and Kiyoshi Saito (1907-1997). Works by other innovative artists like Takumi Shinagawa, Onchi's disciple, are also included. Many of the prints reveal a close relationship with nature, as well as capture the human figure.

For more information please visit the PMA website www.pensacolamuseumofart. org or call 850-432-6247. The PMA is open Tuesday and through Friday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Saturday 12 p.m. - 5 p.m. Admission is $5.00 for adults and $2.00 for students and active duty military.