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December

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December 2010
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What is the best thing about Jyväskylä?

Jyväskylä is a city in the middle of Finland surrounded by beautiful lakes and forests. For me, it is the best place to live and work. It is a kind of small city, but we have a university and also have lots of foreigners like me living here, so the atmosphere is quite open and filled with young energy and international feeling.

What are your favourite art museums, galleries and places of cultural interest?

I’m working as a printmaking artist and also as a technician at the print workshop of Jyväskylä Centre for Printmaking.
http://www3.jkl.fi/taidemuseo/grafiikkakeskus/english.htm

This centre is in the old historical building and has also gallery (Galleria Harmonia) and guest rooms. Daily, a lot of local and visited international printmakers are working together here.

It is also a part of Jyväskylä Art Museum
http://www.jyvaskyla.fi/taidemuseo/english , so naturally this art museum is almost like a home base for me, and it gives me good opportunities to keep myself close to art scenes (For example, the international print triennial Graphica Creativa is organized here).

In the city, we also have very nice Craft Museum of Finland
http://www.craftmuseum.fi/, Museum of Central Finland and Alvar Aalto Museum http://www.alvaraalto.fi/museum/ which offer interesting exhibitions and cosy space.
Besides these museums, we have Galleria Becker
http://www.jkltaiteilijaseura.net/ organized by Jyväskylä artists’ association which consists 120 members.

How would you pass a perfect day in Jyväskylä?

Well, as I am not full time artist, when I could spend whole day at print workshop just doing my own work as I wish, that will be one of my perfect days.

It would be also very nice to spend time with my family doing nothing special but just swimming and fishing on the lake, eating ice-cream at Church Park in summer, jumping and playing in the snow in winter, or whatever.
And spending some evenings with our Finnish friends is always the best.

Which are you favourite restaurants?

We don’t go to restaurant so often because it is not cheap in Finland. But still there are some favourite restaurants.
Banthai
http://www.banthai.fi/kartta/ serves real Thai foods, and Kissanviikset http://www.kissanviikset.fi/ is a very cosy Finnish food restaurant where we often spend our special days. Reindeer steak with berry sauce is of course very good, but my favourite is simple liver steak. 

What is the one thing you’d like to do in Jyväskylä that you haven’t done?

Ice swimming in the lake…yes, I would like to…but, actually I am not ready for this yet.

Where do you like to go to escape the city?

Our “city” is so small, so when I bike for 15 minutes to any direction, it is already out of the city. Sometimes I like bike out of the city without map and it makes me feel free and easy. (There is navigation soft in mobile phone nowadays, so that I can come home easily from anywhere. Thank you for technology!)

What is your favourite view in Jyväskylä?

Lakes, especially when the surface is calm, we can see perfect mirror image of forest. And the sky, when the air is clear, it is not sky anymore, it is space.
Night view of the city, when I came back from the trip, always it makes me feel at home.

What are you currently working on?

My main method is etching. I had been working on the series of white these years in which I am trying to get strong atmosphere by using weak images at colour.
In the same time, I make experiences with polyester lithograph, drypoint and drawings to figure out where my interest towards to.
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Discover Jyväskylä...
Finland's city of light through the eyes of Japanese printmaker
Naoji Ishiyama
Jyväskylä Centre for Printmaking
Naoji In the print workshop
GENERATION, etching, aquatint 2010
“Summer visitors” exhibition at Jyväskylä Art Museum
“Street happening of printmaker” Aino-Kaarina Pajari
Lake beside the city (summer)
Lake beside the city (winter)
BURNING SNOW, etching aquatint 2007
Who is Naoji Ishiyama?
Naoji Ishiyama C.V.

1965
Born in Niihama Ehime, Japan
2003
Live and work in Jyväskylä, Finland

Studies
1991/3
Completed Master course at Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Art
1992/3
Completed Trainee course at Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Art

Membership
1998
Member of the Japan Print Association
2004
Member of Jyväskylä Artists` Association (Jyväskylän Taiteilijaseura ry)
2006
Member of The Association of Finnish Printmakers (Suomen Taidegraafikot ry)

Awards
1990
The 15th Annual Exhibition of the Art College's Print Assn in Japan Purchase Prize
1991
The 16th Annual Exhibition of the Art College's Print Assn in Japan Purchase Prize
1994
The 67th Exhibition of Japan Print Assn  (Japan)Yamaguchi Gen Newcomer's Prize
1996
The 3rd Sapporo International Print Biennale Exhibition (Japan)Sponsor's Prize
The 14th Exhibition of Izu Art Festival (Japan) Grand Prize
1997
International Miniature Print Competition 1997(U.S.A.)Purchase Prize.
1998
The 66th Exhibition of Japan Print Association (Japan) Quasi-Members Prize
International Print Triennial in kanagawa. (Japan) First Prize
2001
International Miniature Print Exhibition 2001(U.S.A.)Purchase Prize and Cash Prize
2003
International Print Triennial - Krakow 2003 (Poland)
Award of Mayor of the City of Katowice
2008
1st Printmaking Triennial -BRIDGES OVER MEDITERRANIAN AND BALTIC (Greece) Hon  Mention Award
2009
Biennale internationale d´estampe contemporaine de Trois-Rivières (Quèbec, Canada) Awarded National Bank Award

To know more about the artist, log on to:

Who is Naoji Ishiyama?
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