Born in Yokohama in 1954, Watanabe graduated from Ecole des Beaux Arts in Tokyo in 1977 and then moved to Paris. Two years later, he was honored by admission to Atelier 17 in Paris and by 1983 had mastered the mezzotint process. Watanabe has created over 90 mezzotints in the past 13 years, each velvety black creation featuring his model and wife, Yuriko.

Of his art Watanabe has written: "It is essential that I vigorously train myself, perpetually purifying and polishing my character. My works are an effort to capture with sincerity the beauty that is manifest in nature. The moment when the copper plate, the technique, the tools and myself become one harmonious whole is when the best of each element is brought out."



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