Ralph Kiggell
Ralph Kiggell is an English artist who lives in Thailand most of the time. He was born in 1960 and completed a BA at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, before pursuing his art studies in Japan. In Japan, he studied Ukiyoe printmaking at the famous Yoshida print studio. He then researched contemporary woodblock printing and related techniques at Kyoto Seika University before completing an MA in printmaking at Tama Art University in Tokyo. Kiggell has long been fascinated by the Japanese woodblock print and has experimented and developed his own methods and techniques based on Japanese traditions. His current works are hand printed on Japanese hand made paper with his own mix of Japanese pigments. He says: "The most important reason why I like woodblock printing is that it uses natural materials and is sensitive to the environment. The second is that I was interested in the Japanese aesthetic, which is superbly represented in Japanese woodblock prints of the last 400 years. Thirdly, as any artist who has printed knows, there is something compelling about carving a design on one material and transferring it to another." Kiggell has completed two recent major projects: colourium and second nature, in which he focuses on nature and on animals and objects that fascinate him. He has exhibited in Japan (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001), UK (1993, 1999), Korea (1997), Hong Kong (1998, 2000, 2003), Malaysia (2000) and Thailand (2002, 2003).
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