After finishing a degree in studio art, Matt Brown moved back to Lyme, his hometown. He made art while working in construction.
In 1993, the then young Hood Museum of Art exhibited prints by Hiroshige, the legendary Japanese printmaker of the “floating world” or “ukiyo-e” era that ended in the middle of the 19th century. Seeing them changed the course of Brown’s life.
“My first little boy was just born and I looked at those and thought, ‘I wonder if I could figure out how those are made,’ ” Brown said in a recent interview in Lyme.
He did figure it out, and since 1995 he has made woodblock prints of the New England landscape in the traditional Japanese style, and made his living at it.
At the same time, he kept studying Japanese printmakers, and a new exhibition at Matt Brown Fine Art, the gallery he opened in 2017 in the former home of Long River Gallery in Lyme, reflects his research and his ongoing interests in both art and business.
“Considering Kunisada and the Chushingura, a Story of the Loyalty and Revenge of the 47 Ronin” brings together a complete set of the “Twelve Continuous Acts of The Storehouse of Loyal Retainers,” a set of prints designed by the madly prolific Utagawa Toyokuni III, known as Kunisada, in the 1850s. The prints, a set of tryptichs, depict probably the most famous work of kabuki theater, which was itself based on a pivotal moment in Japanese history.
Brown will lead a viewing party and will be prepared to talk about Kunisada, his work and its relationship to public life and politics from 2 to 5 p.m. on Sunday at Matt Brown Fine Art. He will also demonstrate the printing technique Kunisada used.
For decades, the art historical consensus about Kunisada was that he was a mere popular artist. His prints were made quickly, in huge numbers as part of an enormous industry and were used primarily to promote and commemorate theatrical productions. Kunisada was thought to represent the final decline of the ukiyo-e era, which ran from around 1615 to 1868.
At the time, and in the following years, the prints were considered disposable, yet they existed in such huge numbers that they were of little value and collectors could, and can still, acquire them for a small outlay, at least by art-world standards.
Scholarship has begun to catch up with Kunisada, roughly in tandem with Brown’s career making prints in the ukiyo-e style. Art historians have begun to write about him, and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston has a huge collection of Kunisada’s prints. Brown, for one, is an unabashed fan.
“I’ve come to believe that this Kunisada is one of the most prolific and most talented artists ever,” Brown said.
Kunisada’s way with color and with the massing of forms to create energy in his prints was exceptional. “He’s so endlessly innovative in the way he works this,” Brown said. “What a fertile visual imagination.”
His work influenced Western artists, as well, particularly Van Gogh, who owned some of Kunisada’s prints.
At its height, ukiyo-e was a huge business. There were as many as 300 print designers, and workers “in the thousands,” Brown said, who carved the designs into wooden blocks and others who made the prints. Kunisada alone created an estimated 20,000 designs for prints.
Brown has been prolific himself. Opening the gallery is a new branch of his career. He took over the lease when Dave Celone, then the operator of Long River Gallery, opted not to reopen the Lyme space after opening a branch in White River Junction. Most of the gallery’s sales have been of Brown’s own work.
He has also branched out onto artsy.net, a website designed to help galleries reach a wider audience. While he wants the Kunisada show, and Sunday’s talk, to draw a local audience, the Upper Valley is a small corner of the potential market for Kunisada’s prints.
“I realize a lot of the viewership for this show will be online,” Brown said.
“Considering Kunisada and the Chushingura, a Story of the Loyalty and Revenge of the 47 Ronin” is on view through April 6. A talk and viewing party are planned for 2 to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
AVA Gallery and Art Center in Lebanon closes its 11th Annual High School Exhibition on Friday, and will also hold a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. to welcome interim executive director Hilde Ojibway and Bente Torjusen, who will act as an adviser to AVA.
“Color Sculptures,” recent paintings by Alison Palizzolo, is on view at Ledyard Gallery in Hanover’s Howe Library. A reception is planned for 2 to 4 p.m., on April 13 and the show is on view through May 1.
Two Rivers Printmaking Studio is holding a series of workshops led by Upper Valley printmakers through the spring. The next, on drypoint printmaking with Rachel Gross, is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. For more information and to see the full slate of workshops, go to tworiversprintmaking.org.
White River Gallery, South Royalton. “Americans Who Tell the Truth,” portraits by Maine artist Robert Shetterly. Through Tuesday.
Betty Grant Gallery, Converse Free Library, Lyme. “15 Years of Monday Painting: A Journey,” features oil paintings by the Monday painting class led by artist Aline Ordman. Through March 30.
BigTown Gallery, Rochester, Vt. “Late Works,” recent “construction and collage” by Varujan Boghosian, and “A Muse: A visit to the studio of Varujan Boghosian,” a portfolio of photographs by Erick Hufschmid, will remain on view through March 16.
Center for the Arts, New London. The New London Inn shows photographs by Marc Beerman; at Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, abstract work of Roger Wells and sculptures by Loren Howar; Blue Loon Bakery, photographs by Rick Stockwell; Whipple Hall Gallery shows work by Proctor Academy students; and Emil Nelson Gallery and Annex shows work by 20th-century artists.
Chelsea Public Library. “Promises of Spring,” watercolors by Brookfield, Vt., artist Marcia Hammond. A reception is planned for 6 to 8 p.m. on March 29. Through April.
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon. Winter exhibitions include: woodworker Put Blodgett, a Bradford native now living in Hanover; Neysa Russo, who makes wool felt tapestry in Corinth; Westminster, Vt., painter Liz Hawkes deNiord; photographer Bruce Parsons, of New London; painter Alan Zola Shulman, also of New London; pastelist Gale Sweet; painter Sharla Broughton; and oil painter Bill Turner, a retired automotive restorer from Milford, N.H.
Gallery at the Space on Main, Bradford, Vt. Photographs by Emily Marsh. Through March.
The Great Hall, Springfield, Vt. “Healing: The Transformative Imagery of Art” includes work by Margaret Jacobs, of Enfield; Carolyn Enz Hack, of East Thetford; and Robert O’Brien, Robert Carsten and Neomi Lauritsen, of Springfield. Through March 30.
Kilton Public Library, West Lebanon. Artwork by students at Hanover Street School. Through May.
Library Arts Center, Newport, N.H. Juried Regional Exhibit and “Text & Textiles,” groups shows. Through March 21.
Long River Gallery, White River Junction. “The Mind Is a City,” mixed media work by Becky Coburn, of Amesbury, Mass., and “Through the Trees,” a show of pastels by White River Junction artist Kathryn Detzer.
Main Street Museum, White River Junction. “Jack Rowell, Cultural Documentarian: Portraits of Vermont People and Other Wildlife.”
North Common Arts, Chelsea. Paintings by Swiss-born artist Friedrich (Fritz) Gross that combine folklore, myth, and fantasy. Through March 16.
Osher@Dartmouth, Hanover. “Explore the White Line Woodcut Print,” by Pomfret artist Marilyn Syme. Through March 22.
Scavenger Gallery, White River Juntion. “Bewildered,” recent work by Montpelier artist Daryl Burtnett in a variety of media, and jewelry by gallery owner Stacy Hopkins.
Steven Thomas, Inc. Fine Arts & Antiques, White River Junction. Work by Upper Valley “vintage” artists, such as Alice Standish Buell, John Semple and Horace Brown.
Two Rivers Printmaking Studio, White River Junction. Retrospective of prints by Norwich artist Penelope Bennett. Through April.
Zollikofer Gallery, White River Junction. “Landscapes Near and Far,” paintings by Thetford artist Jean Gerber. Through March.
Alex Hanson can be reached at ahanson@vnews.com or 603-727-3207.
