In Praise of Trees

A visual and poetic celebration of nature’s spirit by world-renowned artist Naoko Matsubara

This astonishing art book, In Praise of Trees by the internationally acclaimed artist Naoko Matsubara, marks the occasion of her forthcoming exhibitions at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the River Bank Gallery, Niagara on–the-Lake; and her major one-woman show at the Art Gallery of Ontario, opening July 19th 2025.

Naoko Matsubara’s obsession with trees has a long history. The daughter of a Shinto priest (of Kenkun-Jinja, one of the most celebrated shrines in Kyoto), she grew up with the memories of the sacred groves and gardens of that ancient city lodged deep in her innermost consciousness.

Her artistic engagement with trees has haunted her for decades and has remained an inspiration to her. In her art and in this book trees are animated, mysterious, powerful, even subversive and their forms challenge us in so many ways. For the artist, trees pulse with energy, life, and even have an intimidating presence.

“Matsubara sees the spiritual as well as the physical qualities of wood …The artist’s attention to detail of small branches and foliage — made by the negative white spaces in the woodcut — creates the illusion of trees rustling. Matsubara’s use of printmaking to articulate the wide variety of textures that trees possess is a testament to her skill as a woodcut artist and her mastery of this art form.”

— Daniel J. Kushner

NAOKO MATSUBARA has had 80 major art exhibitions over the span of her prolific artistic career in the USA, Canada, Japan, England, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Holland, and Mexico. Her work is held in major public institutions worldwide, including the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco; the Detroit Institute of Art; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the Buffalo AKG Museum; the British Museum in London; the Kyoto National Museum of Modern Art; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Smithsonian Institute, Washington; the Haifa Museum, Israel; the Albertina Museum, Vienna; the Philadelphia Museum of Art; Art Institute of Chicago; the Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art, the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, England; Harvard Art Museum, Cambridge, USA; and many others. On July 19th, 2025, her one woman show will open at the Art Gallery of Ontario, in Toronto. She lives in Oakville, Ontario.

ART / Individual Artists / General

Date: November 21, 2024

$ 40.00 CDN | $35.00 USD

7.25 x 11.5 inches

90 Pages