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Stencil Prints by Sadao Watanabe: 1913 – 1996

Sadao Watanabe’s work reflects a unique combination of Japanese folk artistry and Christian influence. Watanabe studied the traditional stencil techniques of Japanese folk artists and made his stencils on rough and wrinkled handmade paper, giving his work a crude, folk-art simplicity.

While his works were originally inspired by folk art, Watanabe’s work stands apart from other Japanese folk artists and printmakers through its subject matter. A converted Christian, Watanabe took his themes from passages in the Old and New Testaments. His religious stencil prints are beautiful and appropriate works for the Christmas season.

Watanabe’s prints also show an indebtedness to the work of Edvard Munch, the great Norwegian graphic artist working at the turn of the century.