The KIWA exhibitions are not displays of special groups of artists, of influential parties or of a chosen select. No galleries, no media, no municipal or private museums have any say in KIWA affairs. Our exhibitions are actually more like reports to the public, a mutual gathering of international print artists as a demonstration of what is happening right now in world. Our approach to the judging assures that no favoritism or prejudice is present, that what we hang on the walls really represents contemporary printmaking. By having many, anonymous judges, both artists and non-artists, a completely fair representation of what society’s likes are in printmaking is guaranteed.
I sometimes think we should change the name from Exhibition to Report, because more than a mere exhibit, these shows are reports on what is going on now around us in contemporary woodblock printmaking. Woodprints are the oldest, purest, most flexible of print mediums. Anyone can put on paper whatever images they are feeling; the medium does not stand in their way. Regardless of their skills or intent, woodblock printmaking will serve them well. Looking back at the previous four exhibitions, we can see how wonderfully expressive the medium is. There is nothing quite like it.