Naoko Matsubara at the AGO

Abbozzo Gallery is honoured to represent Naoko Matsubara and to support her first solo exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Naoko Matsubara. This landmark presentation highlights the artist’s extraordinary contributions to contemporary printmaking through a selection of 20 woodcut prints spanning over five decades. 

Curated by Renée van der Avoird, Associate Curator of Canadian Art, the exhibition features Matsubara’s dynamic handling of colour and form, her deep engagement with wood as material, and a profound sensitivity to gesture and abstraction.

Anchoring the exhibition is Tagasode (2014), a monumental two-metre print evoking the presence of a kimono hanging on a traditional ikō stand – an elegant fusion of personal memory and cultural reference. Also included are seven prints from her celebrated series In Praise of Hands (1973–2020), which trace the expressive power of the human hand in acts of making: weaving bamboo, playing the flute, carving wood. Bookending the presentation are two rare self-portraits, created nearly 60 years apart, offering an intimate meditation on time, aging, and continuity.

Select prints featured in the AGO exhibition are available for acquisition through Abbozzo Gallery. For enquiries, please contact us directly. Click here to view the full collection of available artworks by Naoko Matsubara.  

Naoko Matsubara’s woodcut prints will be on view at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Galleries 140 and 141.  Click here to learn more on the AGO’s website.