As Funded by my 2026 Cultural Council of West Palm Beach Artist’s Innovation Fellowship“A Brush with Japan: Expanding Le Chat Through the Collotype Tradition”

My work anchored by Le Chat, the surreal, cultural-traveling black cat who appears throughout my layered mixed-media practice has long explored perception, illusion, nostalgia, and the playful tension between the seen and the imagined. Although my artworks incorporate Japanese watercolors, Chinese inks, silkscreen-like processes, and transparent acetate overlays, I remain limited by the physical constraints of my tools and the size formats available to me. The Artist Innovation Fellowship represented the rare opportunity to push beyond those limitations and pursue a transformative next chapter: an apprenticeship at Benrido, Kyoto’s legendary collotype atelier founded in 1887 and operating its collotype studio since 1905. This experience allowed me to learn an endangered, museum-grade printing technique directly from master artisans and finally unlock the ability to create large-format, one-of-a-kind works that my current studio practice cannot yet achieve.

This project was fundamentally about risk, exposure, and personal creative evolution, stepping into a historic atelier and learning a painstaking craft that requires vulnerability, humility, and deep attention. It ties directly to my own story: Japan shaped my career in profound ways during the 1980s and 1990s, when I worked as a video artist, stage designer, music producer, and director with cultural icons like Ryuichi Sakamoto, Yukihiro Takahashi, and Issey Miyake. I returned to Japan, not as a commercial creator but as a fine artist, completed a creative circle. By apprenticing at Benrido, I learned how to translate Le Chat and my multilayered “Original Impressions” methodology, silkscreen textures, watercolors, montage layering, into the subtle, continuous-tone world of collotype. The culmination of this experience produced two large-format collotype works: produced in a limited edition of 10, deeply expressive pieces that merge my contemporary voice with a centuries-old Japanese craft.

A bridge between Palm Beach County and Kyoto Japan.

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The fellowship was not simply support; it was the catalyst that made this artistic leap possible. Funding allowed me to travel to Japan, devote uninterrupted time to intensive learning, acquire the specialized tools and materials required for collotype, and embrace the kind of creative risk that expands both my practice and my role as a cultural ambassador for Palm Beach County. In turn, I will bring this expertise back to my community through presentations, open-studio conversations, and the creation of new large-scale works that highlight cultural exchange, technical mastery, and the power of taking creative chances. This project became more than the production of two artworks, it became an evolution of my story, a bridge between Palm Beach County and Kyoto, and a meaningful contribution to the cultural vitality the Fellowship seeks to foster.

I had the rare honor of learning directly from Osamu Yamamoto, the Master Printer at Benrido’s Collotype Atelier and one of the world’s most accomplished practitioners of this nearly extinct craft. Born in Kyoto in 1960, Yamamoto joined Benrido straight out of high school and has spent more than forty years refining his mastery through relentless trial, error, and devotion. His career includes the collotype reproduction of Japan’s most treasured cultural works, such as the Shōsōin Treasures, the Illustrated Account of the Mongol Invasion, and the luminous bird-and-flower paintings of Itō Jakuchū, as well as collaborations with leading contemporary artists including Yasumasa Morimura, Daidō Moriyama, and Ishiuchi Miyako. As both a master artisan and a dedicated teacher who lectures internationally, Yamamoto embodies the living heart of collotype printing. To study under him is to step into a lineage of precision, humility, and excellence, and to learn from a craftsman who has spent a lifetime pursuing the subtle art of making a single perfect print. This fellowship did not fund a project. It funded the evolution of my artistic identity.

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A Meeting of Mastery: Bayer and Benrido’s Historic Partnership

George Bayer’s collaboration with Benrido marked a transformative chapter for both artist and atelier. This unprecedented partnership bridged the gap between centuries-old techniques and contemporary creativity, reaffirming the enduring power of art to transcend time and tradition. It is a celebration of craft, innovation, and the boundless possibilities that emerge when history and modernity collide.

Benrido and the Legacy of Collotype Printing

Founded in 1887 and operating its collotype atelier since 1905, Benrido is a global custodian of the rare and labor-intensive collotype printing technique. Collotype, first invented in 1855 by French engineer Alphonse Poitevin, was developed as a solution to the fading and discoloration of 19th-century photographic prints. It offers unparalleled image preservation and the ability to produce numerous pigment-rich prints from a single plate. Benrido’s dedication to this historic method is unwavering, and its ateliers stand as some of the last remaining centers for collotype production in the world. By partnering with George Bayer, Benrido not only honored its legacy but also reimagined the future of the technique, inviting new audiences to discover its unparalleled beauty and precision.