Human form in front of abstract, colored shapes

Growing up in Japan, Takeshi Takahara saw woodblock carving and printing as the most popular form of printmaking. But after persistent practice, he found that the laborious and nearly impenetrable surfaces used in intaglio printmaking allowed him to fully realize the ideas in his head. Intaglio printmaking commonly uses a copper place as the substrate for the artist to scratch or etch their design. A series of acid baths then expose the lines. These steps are then repeated to create varying depths and layers to the image. Ink is used to fill the grooves before the image is pressed on to the paper. This time-consuming process suits Takahara’s constant need for revision and contemplation before his work of art is complete. On his process he states, “People assume when you have an idea, you get the result right then, but that’s not the case. The artist is changing [his or her work] all the time before arriving at the final product. That’s exciting to me.”