Naoko Matsubara (b. 1937)

Artist

Born and raised in Kyoto, Japan, Matsubara trained as an artist in her native Japan and the United States, later teaching at several schools. Matsubara settled in Canada in 1972 with her spouse.

She is most known for her woodcut prints which have garnered her international renown. Matsubara combines traditional and contemporary woodcut techniques and themes in the prints. Her work is both figurative and abstract, depending on the theme she is investigating at the time. Matsubara often experiments using various materials such as different woods, paints, and mark making size and colour techniques.

She has produced over 1500 woodcut works during her career. PAMA’s collection has a portfolio titled Solitude, last on display in 2016, inspired by Henry David Thoreau's Walden.