Yuji Hiratsuka - prints and biography
Japanese Master of Color Intaglio with Narrative Detail
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2019
Image Size: 18" H x 24" W
Edition of 15
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2026
Image Size: 16" H x 11" W
Edition of 15
A calm female figure is accompanied by a soaring owl, while a flower covering one eye reveals another watchful eye at its center. Together, these symbolic elements suggest that true vision often extends beyond ordinary sight.
Hiratsuka combines finely etched textures, luminous color, and imaginative symbolism to create a world that feels both familiar and dreamlike. The owl, long associated with wisdom and night, hovers protectively above the figure, while brilliantly patterned flowers and an intensely colored midnight-blue background reinforce the quiet atmosphere of contemplation and discovery.
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2026
Image Size: 24" H x 18" W
Edition of 15
Red String depicts a graceful female figure connected by a vivid red thread linking a bird, a flower, and a ball of string in a quietly poetic composition. Rich surface textures, botanical motifs, and Hiratsuka's distinctive blend of whimsy and symbolism create an engaging contemporary print.
The printed image is chine collé, mounted to a sturdy brown backing sheet with deckled edges. Signed,
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2026
Image Size: 16" H x 11" W
Edition of 15
Hiratsuka nearly obscures his figure beneath an exuberant mass of orange and yellow foliage. Against a richly textured blue ground, the cascading botanical forms become both headdress and mask, leaving only glimpses of the face beneath. The figure holds a single green leaf, while the intricately patterned clothing adds another layer of color and visual rhythm.
Hiratsuka frequently combines the human figure with plants, animals, clothing, and other unexpected elements, using these juxtapositions to create images that are playful, enigmatic, and deliberately open to interpretation.
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2025
Image Size: 24" H x 18" W
Edition of 10
"CN 31773" merges botanical motifs with the human form, reflecting the artist’s ongoing exploration of the interconnectedness between people and their environments. The title refers to a numerical designation from a study on spatio-temporal changes in an ecosystem in a region of China, inviting viewers to consider the impact of human activity on ecological systems.
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2025
Image Size: 24" H x 18" W
Edition of 10
In Camouflage, Yuji Hiratsuka fuses whimsy and introspection in a vivid composition that balances humor with psychological nuance. A woman with angelic wings carries a serene white hen upon her head, its form both absurd and symbolic. The richly patterned background heightens the theatrical quality, while Hiratsuka’s precise intaglio linework and chine collé textures emphasize themes of disguise, duality, and inner transformation.
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2025
Image Size: 24" H x18" W
Edition of 10
Hiratsuka’s focus on the coexistence of Eastern and Western influences, as well as his use of satire, irony, and ambiguity, invites viewers to reflect on the complexity of modern identity and experience. Hiratsuka’s technical mastery and inventive storytelling make "Bio Multiverse" a compelling example of his ongoing exploration of cultural duality and the human condition.
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2025
Image Size: 36" H x 24" W
Edition of 10
A contemplative, angelic figure adorned with delicate wings, surrounded by celestial orbs and accompanied by a watchful owl. Drawing inspiration from ukiyo-e prints and Zen philosophy, Hiratsuka's compositions often juxtapose the familiar with the fantastical, creating a sense of ambiguity and open interpretation.
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2023
Image Size: 18 x 12 inches
A celadon decorated Chinese vase with flowers, with a full moon and clouds in the background.
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2025
Image Size: 36" H x 24" W
Edition of 10
"Bio Satellite Orbiting The Moon" by Yuji Hiratsuka is a print that combines a surreal or imaginative depiction of a satellite’s journey with human or anthropomorphic forms, rendered in Hiratsuka’s colorful, textured style. The technical process involves meticulous etching and the layering of bold colors, contributing to the print’s vibrant and tactile quality.
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2025
Image Size: 16" H x 11" W
Edition of 10
"Juggling" shows a woman from behind, her hair neatly crowned with a large, intricately woven bird’s nest. Atop the nest sits a vibrantly patterned bird, rendered in Hiratsuka’s signature style. The juxtaposition of the human, animal, and botanical motifs creates a sense of balance and interconnectedness, echoing the act of juggling multiple roles or responsibilities in life.
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2025
Image Size: 16" H x 11" W
Edition of 10
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2024
Image Size: 6" H x 4" W
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2022
Image Size: 18 x 12 inches
Edition of 15
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2022
Image Size: 6" H x 4" W
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2024
Image Size: 6" H x 4" W
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2024
Image Size: 6" H x 4" W
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2024
Image Size: 24 x 18 inches
Edition: 15
A celadon decorated Chinese vase with flowers, with a full moon and clouds in the background.
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2024
Image Size: 16 x 11 inches
Edition: 15
A Japanese celadon decorated vase with flowers hiding the face of a young woman. While the images have some resemblance to traditional Japanese Ukiyo-e prints, their sense of whimsy, satire and irony relate more closely to contemporary life and western sensibilities.
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2019
Image Size: 36" H x 24" W
Edition of 10
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2019
Image Size: 36" H x 24" W
Edition of 15
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching
Year: 2023
Image Size: 12" H x 9" W
Edition Size: 15
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching
Year: 2024
Image Size: 12" H x 9" W
Edition Size: 15
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2023
Image Size: 16" H x 11" W
Edition Size: 20
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching
Year: 2024
Image Size: 12" H x 9" W
Edition Size: 15
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching
Year: 2023
Image Size: 10.5" H x 7" W
Edition Size: 15
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2023
Image Size: 10.5 x 7 inches.
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching
Year: 2023
Image Size: 12" H x 9" W
Edition Size: 15
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2018
Image Size: 18 × 24 inches
This imaginative etching by Yuji Hiratsuka features two mirrored female figures rendered in his signature blend of contemporary stylization and traditional Japanese visual language. Each figure holds an illustrated book, while symbolic motifs—a diamond, fantastical birds, and floral elements—float around them. The rich color palette, subtle texturing, and chine-collé surfaces give the work a luminous, intimate quality.
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching
Year: 2023
Image Size: 12" H x 9" W
Edition Size: 15
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2022
Image Size: 18 x 12 inches
Edition of 15
Yuji Hiratsuka
Biography
Yuji Hiratsuka (b. 1954, Osaka, Japan) is a Japanese-American printmaker known for richly colored intaglio prints that combine traditional Japanese imagery with contemporary Western references. His theatrical figures inhabit dreamlike scenes filled with humor, ambiguity and visual puns, often exploring cultural identity and the meeting of past and present.
Hiratsuka is particularly recognized for his demanding color-intaglio process. Working from a single copper plate, he prints successive layers of color, reworking and preparing the plate between impressions. Many prints also incorporate chine collé, adding patterned and colored papers that give the surfaces exceptional richness and texture.
He studied art education at Tokyo Gakugei University before moving to the United States in 1985. He earned graduate degrees in printmaking from New Mexico State University and Indiana University and taught printmaking and drawing at Oregon State University for three decades, retiring in 2022.
Hiratsuka’s prints have been exhibited internationally and are held in numerous public collections, including the British Museum, Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art, Library of Congress, Portland Art Museum, Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Art Institute of Chicago.
Related artists working with narrative figurative imagery and cultural symbolism:
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2025
Image Size: 16" H x 11" W
Edition of 10
Yuji Hiratsuka’s Fertile Nest shows a radiant blossom rising above a woven nest cradling a budding form, evoking renewal and creative potential. Hiratsuka’s distinctive use of layered color and etched line creates a tactile harmony between organic detail and stylized abstraction. The composition’s intricate textures and luminous palette exemplify his balance between Eastern and Western aesthetics.
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2024
Image Size: 18 x 12 inches
Edition: 15
A Japanese celadon decorated vase with flowers hiding the face of a young woman. While the images have some resemblance to traditional Japanese Ukiyo-e prints, their sense of whimsy, satire and irony relate more closely to contemporary life and western sensibilities.
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2024
Image Size: 16 x 11 inches
Edition: 15
A flower hides the face of a young woman. While the images have some resemblance to traditional Japanese Ukiyo-e prints, their sense of whimsy, satire and irony relate more closely to contemporary life and western sensibilities.
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2024
Image Size: 8 × 6 inches
Edition: 15
Garden of fantastical multi-colored flowers. While the images have some resemblance to traditional Japanese Ukiyo-e prints, their sense of whimsy, satire and irony relate more closely to contemporary life and western sensibilities.
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2019
Image Size: 12 x 9 inches
Edition of 20
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching
Year: 2021
Image Size: 12" H x 9" W
Edition Size: 14
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2020
Image Size: 18 x 12 inches
Edition of 15
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching
Year: 2023
Image Size: 12" H x 9" W
Edition Size: 15
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2020
Image Size: 18 x 12 inches
Edition of 15
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2019
Image Size: 36 x 24 inches
Edition of 15
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching
Year: 2020
Image Size: 36" H x 24" W
Edition of 15
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2014
Image Size: 9" H x 12" W
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching on rice paper
Year: 2013
Image Size: 36" H x 24" W
The figure sits on an antique Victorian style chair. She's holding a typical Asian veggie: daikon radish. Her chest/neck accessory is a persimmon
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2016
Image Size: 36" H x 24" W
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2016
Image Size: 24 x 18 inches
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2015
Image Size: 18" H x 12" W
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2016
Image Size: 18" H x 12" W
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2022
Image Size: 18 x 12 inches
Edition of 15
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2016
Image Size: 36" H x 24" W
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2014
Image Size: 12" H x 9" W
By: Yuji Hiratsuka
Medium: Etching and Chine Collé
Year: 2018
Image Size: 18" H x 24" W
Edition of 10