s3e50 Allison Tolman, contemporary Japanese print dealer

Platemark

In s3e50, Platemark host Ann Shafer talks with Allison Tolman, a private dealer handling prints by contemporary Japanese artists. The Tolman Collection has branches in Tokyo and New York and works with a range of artists. Allison is a second-generation dealer—her father heads up the Tokyo branch while Allison is holding down the fort in New York. She enjoys personal relationships with her artists and is a tireless promoter of prints from the other side of the world.

Ann and Allison talk about cultural differences relating to aesthetics, manner of working, and business dealings. They also talk about managing a business without a bricks-and-mortar space and their love of this admittedly tiny corner of the art world.

SHINODA Toko (Japanese, 1913–2021). Awakening, 2017. Original painting. 24 3/4 x 40 1/2 in. The Tolman Collection of New York.

YAMAMOTO Kanae (Japanese, 1882–1946). Fisherman, 1904. Woodcut. 12 3/8 x 10 11/16 in. Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland.

HOKUSAI Katsushika (Japanese, 1760–1849). Under the Wave off Kanagawa, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, c. 1830–32. Woodblock print. 10 x 15 in. (25.4 x 38.1 cm.). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

KAWAMURA Sayaka (Japanese, born 1990). I Dream of Floating, 2021. 27 5/8 x 27 5/8 in. The Tolman Collection of New York.

YOSHIDA Hadaka (Japanese, 1926–1995). Night (drops), 1954. Woodblock print. 16 x 10 7/8 in. (40.5 x 27.5 cm.). Scholten Japanese Art, New York.

KURODA Shigeki (Japanese, born 1953). Yellow Flow. Etching. 7 x 11 in. Gilbert Luber Gallery, Philadelphia.

KAWACHI Seiko (Japanese, born 1948). The Flying (Metropolitan Government-I), from the series One Hundred Views of Tokyo, Message to the 21st Century, 1989–99. Color woodblock print. 27 x 20 in. (68 x 50 cm.). Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago.

TAKAHASHI Hiromitsu (Japanese, born 1959). Blizzard of Blossoms, 2013. Stencil print. The Tolman Collection, Tokyo.

USEFUL LINKS

Artists | The Tolman Collection of New York

Japanese Woodblock Print Search - Ukiyo-e Search

What is an Original Print? | Print Council of America

Lucas Martineau. Takahashi Hiromitsu: The “DyEing” Art of Kappazuri, 2020.

Takahashi Hiromitsu “DyEing” Art of Kappazuri Lucas Martineau | Tolman Collection of Tokyo (tolmantokyo.com)