Joichi Hoshi (1913-1979)

Joichi Hoshi was a Japanese printmaker best known for his depictions of trees in cen- tered compositions. The trees are often shown leafless with monochromatic backgrounds, some- times incorporating gold or silver leaf into the layers of the intricate woodblock process. Born
in 1913 in Niigata, Japan, Hoshi began his artistic career after working as an elementary school teacher in Taiwan for several years. He later became a mimeograph printer and started creating his own prints. The artist graduated from the Musashino University of Fine Arts in 1956. Today, Hoshi’s works are held in the collections of the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Cincinnati Art Museum, among others.