When Noda was 28 years old, in 1968, he won the International Grand Prize at the Tokyo International Print Biennale. He was the first person to receive such an award for a print that incorporated photography. His innovative method of printmaking involves photographs scanned through a mimeograph machine and then printed using traditional woodblock techniques on a wood-engraving background. Although this mixed-media technique is quite prosaic today, Noda was the first artist to initiate this breakthrough.

As the title, Diary, uncovered suggests, Noda captures glimpses of daily life; neighborhood scenes, his young daughter holding her blanket, fruits and vegetables in the kitchen, gifts from friends or even napping self-portraits. Noda turns this self-examination into beautiful stark records of the quotidian. Through his meticulous process, the sharpness of the photographs deteriorates and fine edges soften, bespeaking of how memories might reside in our minds. This is further reinforced by the painterly and lyrical sensibilities that surpass the superficiality of the image itself. Blurring the line between photography and woodblock printing, Noda’s special technique provides a compelling way to capture daily moments on paper and to gaze at his reinterpreted memories.

In 1991, Tetsuya Noda became a full professor at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts. His work can be found in International Museums including the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington D.C., and the British Museum in London. Noda is married to Dorit Bartur, daughter of the former Israeli ambassador to Japan, and they have a son and a daughter. Mr. Noda and his wife Dorit will be present at the Reception on September 8th at his first opening in Chicago.