Edutainment > Joshua Rome - born 1953

Forgotten Way, 1993
copyright Joshua Rome

Joshua Rome is an American who lived with his family for 25 years in a small hamlet in the hills near Kyoto/Japan chronicling the life of his rural neighbors. He was born in Hartford, CT, USA. His teachers were Clifton Karhu and Kuroda Kenkichi. In 1998 Joshua Rome and his family returned to the U.S.A. and now live in Vermont. Joshua Rome is an internationally established and renowned artist whose works are in major museums and who is represented by top galleries like Yoseido, Verne Collection, Ren Brown Collection, Ronin Gallery and Azuma Gallery. In October 2005 Joshua Rome exhibited at the prestigious CWAJ Show in Toyko for the 21st year.

We published this article on the occasion of our first presentation of woodblock prints by Mr. Joshua Rome in a solo auction in March 2006. The solo auction feature(s/d) 25 of the artist's prints including several of his major art works shown at the prestigious CWAJ print shows.

Dieter and Yorie in March 2006

About and by Joshua Rome

Quiet Reflection, 1991
copyright Joshua Rome

The following text is from the artist's official resumé.

"Born in 1953 the adopted son of Broadway composer-lyricist Harold Rome, Joshua Rome was exposed to the arts from an early age.

At the age of twenty-one, Rome made his way to Japan with the hopes of studying Japanese cabinetry. However he met the woodblock artist Clifton Karhu, who befriended Rome and took him on as an apprentice. At first Rome was more interested in carving of the blocks but during three years of apprenticeship he gained an appreciation for color and paper.

When his apprenticeship ended Rome continued his studies for another three years at the home of Kuroda Kenkichi the son of Kuroda Tatsuaki, national treasure of lacquer and cabinetry. But it was woodblock printing that had grasped his imagination and so for twenty years Joshua Rome lived in the rural mountains of Japan about an hour from Kyoto, creating landscapes of a society in transition.

Rome is well established with more than seventy-five successful solo shows at premier galleries throughout Japan as well as being an annual contributor to the College Women's Association of Japan show, the best cross-section of all print mediums in the Japanese print world. Rome has also had numerous solo shows in New York, Cleveland and San Francisco. Joshua and his family returned from Japan in 1998 and now live in Vermant, USA."

Joshua Rome in 2006

Impressions on a Woodblock Impressionist

Harvest in Yunan - Yunan no Shukaku, 1985
copyright Joshua Rome

Because Joshua Rome had started his woodblock printmaking career as an apprentice to Clifton Karhu, you might expect that at least his early works were done in the style of his first teacher. You may even have read something like that somewhere. Forget about it. The artwork created by Joshua Rome is different and very genuine. If his works can be compared to anything created before in art history, a comparison with the French impressionists comes closest to truth. And indeed, the two greatest role models for the artist are the French painter Claude Monet and the Japanese woodblock master Hiroshi Yoshida.

Our solo auction with Joshua Rome presents woodblock prints that cover a period from 1985 until 2006. It is remarkable that his style has developed, but has not undergone any major changes over the years. And it is astonishing that he displayed such a mature, elaborate style from the very beginning. But the most astonishing fact that we see is the question how Joshua Rome achieves his mesmerizing, impressionistic style through the medium of the woodblock print?

We are no printmakers and we have only a partial answer. Mr. Rome carves himself and prints himself. There is not one step in the process of printmaking that he would entrust to anybody else - except for sales (thanks Josh!).

On the homepage of the artist you can read an article, written by Donald Richie from 'THE JAPAN TIMES' in May14. 1996. He describes some of the techniques and the artistic philosophy of Joshua Rome in more detail and in more refined words than we can do. We are simply puzzled and fascinated by the unique results - woodblock prints of simple, but mind-boggling beauty.

Sansaitori, 1988
copyright Joshua Rome

Another aspect of Joshua Rome's woodblock prints that attracted our attention is the fact that some of his prints - even some of the early ones like Sansaitori from 1988 look like a development of the artist in direction of an abstract or semi-abstract style. This was indeed a kind of natural and logical development for many artists like Wassily Kandinsky or even Franz Marc shortly before his death in world war I. We do not know if Joshua Rome has ever been tempted to dabble in abstract art as Toshi Yoshida had dared to do after his father's death. But we are unsure if it would have worked well for Joshua Rome. His roots are in the depiction of landscapes, nature and the humans who live in harmony with it and the disappearing world of old Japan that he had found in a remote hamlet of the Japanese countryside.

Joshua Rome has returned to the land where he was born, the United States, and now lives in Vermont. We are wondering what kind of influence it will have on his woodblock printmaking style. A more recent work by the artist shows a saxophone player, After the Rain - a scene taken from Central Park in New York. Another recent print is titled Spirit Levels and shows grass against the sky. Both are wonderful prints with distinctive grain patterns - one of the strong points of the artist. We are sure there are still many more wonderful woodblocks to come from the hands of this great artist!

Dieter and Yorie in March 2006

Selected Gallery Works

Here are two selected works from artelino's solo auction with Joshua Rome. They are among our personal favorites and we want to share them with you.

Aka Fuji - Red Fuji

Aka Fuji - Red Fuji, 2002
copyright Joshua Rome

Since the times of Hokusai who immortalized the sleeping volcano and made it the landmark of Japan, many artists have been fascinated by this majestic view. The simple woodblock interpretation by Joshua Rome exerts a fascination that is hard to explain. After having enjoyed this design for several weeks, we still feel kind of addicted. If we were asked to name the best woodblock prints depicting Mount Fuji in the last hundred years, we would without any doubt list this print in the top ten. But don't ask us why. We cannot explain it with reasons.

Almost There

Almost There, 2005
copyright Joshua Rome

The Northern and Eastern parts of Japan are known for snowy and severe winter conditions. Joshua Rome is especially good with snow scenes. This recent design from 2005 is among his best works. The lone person of whom only the backside and a huge umbrella are shown reminds us of some of Hasui Kawase's winter scenes. Although the styles are very different, both artists show great skill in creating moods with simple designs of a lonely human being exposed to the forces of nature.

Selected Exhibitions in Japan

Rice Planting Girl - Saotome, 1988
copyright Joshua Rome

• 1984, 1986, 1988 - Solo Show, Ginza Matsuya, Tokyo.
• 1985, 1988, 1993 - Solo Show, American Club, Tokyo.
• 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993 - Solo Show, Umeda Hankyu, Osaka.
• 1988, 1989 - Solo Show, Takarazuka Seibu, Kobe.
• 1989 - Two Person Show, Yurakucho Hankyu, Tokyo.
• 1989, 1996, 2001 - Solo Show, Maruzen Kyoto.
• 1988 - Solo Show, Matsuzakaya, Nagoya.
• 1990 - Solo Show, Matsyama Gallery, Ehime.
• 1990, 1996, 2000 - Solo Show, Maruzen Osaka.
• 1990 - Solo Show, Gallery Repos, Kyoto.
• 1990 - Solo Show - Mitsukoshi, Kyoto.
• 1990, 2001 - Solo Show, Takashimaya, Yokohama.
• 1991 - Solo Show, Konbun Silk Hall, Shizuoka.
• 1992, 1996, 1998, 2000 - Solo Show, Nihonbashi Maruzen, Tokyo.
• 1992, 1996, 1998, 2000 - Solo Show, Nagoya Maruzen.
• 1990 - Solo Show, Maebasgi, Gunma.
• 1993 - Solo Show, Kobe Hankya.
• 1993 - Solo Show, Sendai Maruzen.
• 1994 - Solo Show, Awa no Sato, Tokushima.
• 1998, 2000 - Two Person Show, Nagoya Maruzen.
• 1993 - Two Person Show, CHIC, Port Island Kobe.
• 1994 - Solo Show, Yarakucho Hankyu, Tokyo.
• 1994 - Solo Show, Gallery Rose' Gifu.
• 1996, 2000 - Solo Show, Tokyo Ikebukuro Mitsukoshi.
• 1996, 2000 - Solo Show, Sendai Mitskoshi.

Selected Exhibitions in the USA

• 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1995, 2004 - Solo Show, Ronin Gallery, New York, NY, USA.
• 1996 - Solo show, Verne Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
• 2000 - Solo Show, Ren Brown Gallery, Bodega Bay, CA, USA.
• 2001 - Solo Show, Southern Vt. Art Center, Manchester, VT, USA.
• 2005 - Solo Show, Wenniger Gallery, Rockport, MA, USA.

Juried Shows

• 1981-2005 - College Women Association of Japan (CWAJ), American Club, Tokyo, Japan.
• 1981, 1982 - Japan Print Society, Ueno Museum, Tokyo, Japan.
• 2003, 2005 - Southern Vermont Art Center members show, USA.

Collections

After the Rain - Ameagari, 2005
copyright Joshua Rome

• Library of Congress, Washington D.C., USA
• British Museum, London, England
• James A.Michener Collection, Hawaii, USA
• New York Public Library, New York, USA
• Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio, USA
• Oberlin College Museum of Art, Ohio, USA
• Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa, CA, USA

Galleries that Represent Joshua Rome

The printworks by Joshua Rome are represented by some of the finest galleries for contemporary Japanese prints.

• Seiseisha, Tokyo, Japan (sole agent in Japan.
• The Verne Collection, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
• The Ren Brown Collection, Bodega Bay, CA, USA.
• Ronin Gallery, New York, NY, USA.
• Azuma Gallery, Seattle, WA, USA.

Publications

Michael Verne and Betsey Franco wrote a book, published by Tuttle Books

Quiet Elegance
Japan through the eyes of nine American Artists

The book is out of print, but available through Verne Gallery.

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