Hitoshi Kido.
Hitoshi Kido’s illustrious career in printmaking spans decades and continents, including collaborations with iconic artists from Robert Rauschenberg to Yoshitomo Nara. With expertise in intaglio, lithography, and photogravure, Kido has risen to the forefront of his field, masterfully balancing tradition with innovation. After discovering his passion for printmaking at Musashino Art University, he began his career at the legendary print publishers Universal Limited Art Editions (ULAE) in New York. Rising to the role of Master Printer, Kido spent nearly a decade at ULAE working alongside renowned artists, including Jasper Johns, Jim Dine, and Kiki Smith.
Returning to Tokyo in the early 2000s, Kido established KIDO Press Gallery in Shinkawa, Cho-ku, in 2003. Merging creativity and technique to form a haven for contemporary printmaking, the studio has grown to become KIDO Press Gallery, regularly holding special exhibitions of contemporary art. Its program showcases both established and emerging Japanese artists while introducing leading Western artists to Japanese audiences. Through dedication to collaboration, KIDO Press Gallery continues to push the boundaries of printmaking, nurturing a vibrant gallery space where artists and skilled printers bring ambitious projects to life.
Our December Hong Kong auction will feature several Yoshitomo Nara printer’s proofs published by KIDO Press. Ahead of the sale, we asked Kido about his career, creative process, and top tips for artistic collaboration. A special thank you to Kanae Tominaga for kindly translating Hitoshi Kido’ s words.
Yoshitomo Nara, Green Eyes, 2002. Editions, Photographs and Design, Hong Kong.
PHILLIPS: What initially drew you to printmaking? Where/how did you study the medium?
HITOSHI KIDO: My first experience with printmaking was at Musashino Art University. Since there was no specialized course for printmaking at that time, I studied the medium in an extracurricular printmaking seminar from my sophomore year until graduation. Originally, I majored in oil painting, but I became captivated by the expressive qualities of printmaking — even though its characteristics sometimes act as constraints in the creative process. Compared to the directness of oil painting, I found that the indirect expression achieved through printing suited me well. Moreover, I became endlessly fascinated by the depth of printmaking techniques, which could fill countless technical books, and this vast body of knowledge was one of the reasons I became so drawn to printmaking.
P: You have worked with many renowned artists, such as Yoshitomo Nara, Jasper Johns and Kiki Smith, to name a few. What are the ingredients for successful collaboration, from both the commercial and creative perspectives?
HK: Each artist has different motivations for working in printmaking. The key to successful collaborations is a passion for creating great works. While whether a work is commercially successful is a separate issue, at least during the creative process, both artists and printers focus solely on producing something great. From my perspective, the three artists exhibited different forms of passion for their works when I collaborated with them. Jasper Johns' work involved a systematic flow, as he visualized his thoughts through painting and confirmed them in printmaking. Kiki Smith, on the other hand, focused on improvisationally visualizing her overflowing passion. With Yoshitomo Nara, I sensed a strong enthusiasm stemming from an autobiographical position, as if he could not resist creating.
Yoshitomo Nara, Running Nose Brothers, 2002. Editions, Photographs and Design, Hong Kong.
P: In our upcoming auction, we are offering four enchanting works by Yoshitomo Nara, printed at Kido Press. What was it like to work with Nara?
HK: When he came to the studio, he already had a clear vision of what he wanted his works to be like. My role was to help bring his vision to life by providing appropriate techniques, including creating the environment around the motifs through printmaking techniques. For instance, the background of the work Green Eyes features a sky-blue bokashi (a blurring technique used in ukiyo-e). To express the distant sky that the girl with a bandage on her cheek is gazing at, I incorporated the traditional ukiyo-e technique of ichimonji bokashi which creates a blurring effect resembling the kanji character for the number one. Instead of applying paint to create this effect, the artist and I successfully achieved variations in tone on the plate by using an etching chemical, ferric chloride, in a gradient. Yoshitomo Nara had never hesitated to try new techniques, and he never failed.
Yoshitomo Nara had never hesitated to try new techniques, and he never failed.
— Hitoshi Kido
P: Japan has such a rich history of printmaking, and Kido Press has been instrumental in continuing this within contemporary art. Do you ever look to the past for inspiration?
HK: As I mentioned earlier regarding the application of the ichimonji bokashi technique in Yoshitomo Nara's work, the achievements of great predecessors are always invaluable learning materials for me. In addition to this technique, there are countless expressive methods I have learned from the past, such as Utamaro’s karasuri (embossing), Sharaku’s kirazuri (a printmaking technique that highlights a motif with a glossy background), and Hokusai’s yasurigasumi (a technique that expresses depth through tonal variation, adopted by Impressionists to create atmospheric perspective). I appreciate the environment and cultures I was born into, as they allow me to reflect on and adopt insights for future collaborations with artists.
Katsushika Hokusai, The Lake at Hakone in Sagami Province from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, 1830-32, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Image: © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rogers Fund, 1914, JP17.
P: Etching and lithography are both magical, transformative processes, do you have a favorite, and why?
HK: It is a bit of a tricky question, and I do not have a particular favorite technique. Both etching and lithography possess distinct characteristics that enable them to create rich grayscale, ranging from white to black, through their own unique methods. Intaglio printing offers infinite possibilities within a single plate, from etched line drawings to aquatint expressions. On the other hand, lithography allows for complex and rich expressions by combining and layering multiple plates and colours.
Yoshitomo Nara, Straight Jacket, 2002. Editions, Photographs and Design, Hong Kong.
P: As a master printer, you need to be a magician too, can you share a printmaking secret, or are you sworn to secrecy?
HK: Indeed, printmaking is a technique filled with subtle yet countless tricks. It takes a long time to learn all of them, but there are no secrets that must be kept hidden from others who want to know. I personally believe that it is significant to pass down the techniques and expressions of old masters’ legacies, such as Dürer, Rembrandt, and Hokusai, to the next generations.
P: There are many legendary print studios and master printers, are there any you particularly admire?
HK: There are many master printers and print studios that have published remarkable works in the past and continue to do so today. Among them, I would particularly mention Aldo Crommelynck, who worked on many of Picasso’s renowned masterpieces, and John Lund, a master printer for Jasper Johns, as being especially admired.
Hitoshi Kido and John Lund working at ULAE, Park Avenue, New York, 1984. Image courtesy of Universal Limited Art Editions.
P: From a technical perspective, what is the most challenging or complex edition you have made?
HK: Just as each artist faces challenges in creating plates and prints, we printers also encounter challenges in producing their works. Among the projects, Robert Rauschenberg's Street Sound especially required a high level of technical skill to print four-colour-separated photogravures onto a large sheet of paper.
Yoshitomo Nara, Top of the World, 2002. Editions, Photographs and Design, Hong Kong.
P: Are there any printmaking tools or materials that you have not used yet, and would like to explore in the future?
HK: I have tried most of the tools and materials for printmaking, so I don’t have specific items I want to explore in the future. However, the lack of successors in the field of craftsmanship has led to a shortage of materials and tools, some of which have even been discontinued. If possible, I would like to obtain those materials and tools once again.
I became endlessly fascinated by the depth of printmaking techniques, which could fill countless technical books.
— Hitoshi Kido
Print studio at KIDO Press Gallery, Tokyo.
P: How has the world of printmaking developed over the course of your career? Looking ahead, what’s next?
HK: Within my career, this may resonate with many people, but the rise of computers and associated digitalization is particularly noteworthy. The prints produced by digital printers and those made by hand can compete with each other while also intertwining and coexisting inextricably, allowing each to amplify its unique qualities. I believe this can further expand the realm of expression in the future.
The key to successful collaborations is a passion for creating great works.
— Hitoshi Kido
P: Finally, the impossible question: Who is your favorite artist, and why?
HK: Without hesitation, I would say John Currin. His printmaking career has been almost entirely a collaboration with me for over 20 years. Working with him has become my life's work. Currin is one of the most renowned artists in contemporary art and is deeply passionate about classical painting. When he creates his prints, he studies old masters’ techniques, aiming to draw etching lines like Rembrandt and achieve rich aquatints like Goya. Beyond technical mastery, he also leverages the constraints of printmaking — the inability to freely draw or erase — to create prints before working on his large-scale tableaus, allowing him to understand composition and tonal placement. He says this process dramatically improves his painting practice. I have deep respect for his dedication to classical techniques and feel honored to collaborate with him.
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