ATSUKO ISHII
Born in Osaka in 1970, Atsuko Ishii left Japan in 1995. She settled in Paris, where she has lived and worked ever since, dedicating herself entirely to engraving.
Her preferred technique is color etching. She rarely draws, considering her copper plate as a sheet of paper on which she expresses herself freely. Etching involves varnishing a plate, attacking the varnish with a needle to create the designs, then immersing the plate in an acid bath. Once cleaned, the plate is inked, and several passes are made under the press depending on the colors. To this technique, she adds a system of Japanese paper collages, stencils on the plate for colored surfaces, or even embossing for certain elements.
Her precise line work on the copper plate and her fine cuts demonstrate mastery of an ancient and complex technique. However, her universe remains resolutely modern, moving engraving beyond the traditional framework, both literally and figuratively.
From her life in Japan, she retains a love of emptiness and silence, while France, she says with humor, taught her "to be a little wild." She calls her creations her personal reality show: precise moments, encounters, departures. Her engravings invite us into a multitude of dreamlike scenes, small tender frenzies, extravagant fantasies where a child rides a rocket, an astronaut gets lost in a lush forest, or a young boy struggles against a teacup.
Her works have been exhibited internationally, notably in Japan, France, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Sweden, Mexico, and Belgium. She has also collaborated with Isabel Marant, Le Bon Marché, and the Rock en Seine festival.
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