Born in Japan in 1913, artist Joichi Hoshi was a renowned printmaker, famous for his beautiful images of often leafless, ethereal trees. He attended the Musashino University of Fine Arts and worked for several years as a teacher before beginning to create his own artistic prints. Before focusing on trees, Joichi Hoshi’s prints were often images of the stars and constellations, which he loved to observe from the darkness of Mongolia.
After drawing an image on a woodblock, Hoshi would carve the wood to create the template for a print. Joichi Hoshi’s prints were then transferred to paper, often in a single color for a stark, monochromatic look that was sometimes accented by gold leaf. As an artist, Joichi Hoshi had a short career, but museums throughout the world display his works. He died in 1979.
