Ko Kado

Ko Kado brings karakami, the centuries-old art of hand-printing on washi, into contemporary art, where texture, gesture, shadow and light are inseparable. His minimalist compositions do not transform the paper but reveal it, inviting a closer look and a quiet, essential sense of beauty.

Born and based in Kyoto, Japan (b. 1975)

Ko Kado is one of the few contemporary masters of karakami, the centuries-old art of hand-printing on washi paper that has long been used in Japanese decorative arts and interiors. Through carved woodblocks, brushes, natural pigments and carefully repeated gestures, he brings traditional techniques into a contemporary artistic practice shaped by his own sensitivity to material, light and space.

Rather than transforming the paper, Ko Kado seeks to reveal it. Working with washi and natural pigments, he explores texture, gesture, light and negative space. His minimalist compositions invite a closer look, as subtle variations in texture and pigment emerge through changing light. His new series, titled Ojiku, is inspired by the proportions and contemplative balance of the traditional Japanese hanging scroll (kakejiku). A layer of handmade kōzo washi frames the central motif, introducing another register of white alongside the pigments and subtle relief of karakami.

After studying product design in Japan and graphic design in the United States, he worked as a designer in New York. Upon returning to Kyoto, he pursued his longstanding passion for paper, spending five years training within a thirteen-generation karakami workshop, where he became the only apprentice accepted from outside the family lineage. In 2009, he founded his studio, Kamisoe, in Kyoto, where he has since developed his own artistic language, grounded in the techniques and materials of karakami.

He has collaborated with artists such as Hiroshi Sugimoto and Ryuichi Sakamoto, as well as with architects and designers, and has contributed to restoration projects, including the seventeenth-century Saga-bon books.

Further information and selected exhibitions available upon request.