JAPAN 2025
Denise Wyllie-Ballard ARE is an Associate Member of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers and a Director of the Printmakers' Council UK. She has exhibited widely in the UK and internationally, including Japan, the USA, and France’s Manifestampe’s Fête de l’Estampe. She was also a founder member of Art-Contact Russia-UK.
This exhibition, her first solo show in Japan, is inspired by her love of nature’s fleeting beauty. From Japan’s cherry blossoms to the rose gardens of David Austin, Denise captures the essence of nature through outdoor sketches and refined printmaking techniques, evoking both serenity and vitality.
Anne Desmet RA, artist printmaker and Royal Academician, says: “Denise’s exuberant, joyful prints of the natural world are not only wonderfully well observed and expertly rendered but also pulse with energy and movement: you look at her blossom trees and you can positively feel the life force coursing through them.”
Wyllie’s work reflects her deep expertise in fine art printmaking—lithography, screen printing, and relief print—allowing her to work with great fluency and creative freedom.
The Cherry Blossom Front series explores the changing presence of sakura, drawing connections between its seasonal shifts and human emotions. From the introspective stillness of winter to the warmth of spring afternoons, each print captures a moment in the tree’s life cycle. Kyoto: Travelling with a Fragile Heart, rendered in serene blue tones, invites quiet reflection, blending the personal with the universal.
The Magical Garden series pushes the boundaries of printmaking, using vibrant layers of color to evoke a fantastical natural world, where intricate details reward close attention.
Wyllie approaches Japanese traditions with deep respect, especially the poetic transience of sakura, which mirrors the fleeting nature of human experience. As a child, she admired Japan’s rich artistic heritage; as an adult, she finds wonder in the sakura’s transformation of the landscape each spring. The philosophy of mono no aware—a sensitivity to life's transient beauty—resonates deeply with her, as does sakura’s symbolism of renewal and hope.
