Unfolding Image: A Contemporary Approach to the Japanese Folding Screen

The book documents a cross-cultural and multidisciplinary collaboration between five Swedish visual artists and a traditional Japanese folding screen maker, exploring how their distinct practices interpret and translate the folding screen form.

From the publisher:
Unfolding Image is a richly illustrated book depicting a collaboration between five Swedish artists and a young traditional Japanese folding screen maker, Koto Kataoka, based in Tokyo. Through texts, artist presentations, and well-documented images from workshops, exhibitions, and field studies in Japan, the book explores the meeting point between art and craft from both Swedish and Japanese perspectives. With photographic depictions of landscapes, environments, and materials that have shaped the project, the book becomes a visual journey of cultural exchange and artistic expression.

Through a combination of text and photo documentation, the book captures the cross-cultural collaboration and explores how Ylva Carlgren, Inez Jönsson, Martin Kozlowski, Juri Markkula, and Karl Patric Näsman interpret and transform the folding screen within their contemporary artistic practices. While highlighting each artist’s individual approach, the reader in this book is invited into the workshops, materials, and a detailed documentation of the final ten works, all explored in relation to the form, material, and cultural tradition of the Japanese folding screen. Ylva Carlgren, Inez Jönsson, and Karl Patric Näsman share a deep connection to craftsmanship, reflected in their choice of materials and time-intensive, meticulous processes. In a different but complementary direction, Markkula and Kozlowski incorporate digital aesthetics and technologies into their work. Markkula’s pieces are shaped by industrial manufacturing techniques and machine-based processes, while Kozlowski uses a layered painting method influenced by digital editing aesthetics.

Koto Kataoka (b. 1988, Tokyo) is a third-generation byōbu maker and CEO of Kataoka Byoubu, founded in 1946 in Sumida, Tokyo. He studied economics and management at Dokkyo University before dedicating himself to the family craft, training for two years at Marukawa Yuhei Shoten. His work explores the intersection of traditional Japanese folding screen techniques and contemporary expression. Kataoka has exhibited internationally, including in Sweden, Italy, Great Britain, and Thailand, and continues to collaborate with artists to expand the cultural reach of the craft of byōbu.

Inez Jönsson (b. 1989) is a Stockholm-based artist whose work bridges painting and object, grounded in textile and woodcraft traditions. A graduate of the Royal Institute of Art, she has exhibited widely in Sweden and received the Åke Andrén and Bærtling scholarships.

Ylva Carlgren (b. 1984) is a Stockholm-based painter known for her layered watercolor abstractions that explore light and presence. She holds an MFA from Valand Academy and has exhibited in Tokyo, Hamburg, Stockholm, and Beijing.

Martin Kozlowski (b. 1984) is a Stockholm-based painter who blends gesture and structure, drawing from Japanese calligraphy. Educated at Goldsmiths and Städelschule, he has exhibited across Europe and Asia and was awarded the Vera and Göran Agnekil Scholarship in 2018.

Juri Markkula (b. 1970, Turku) is a Swedish artist based on Gotland. His work merges analog and digital techniques—like 3D printing—to explore materiality and perception. He has exhibited globally and is represented in several public collections.

Karl Patric Näsman (b. 1986) is a Stockholm-based artist with degrees from Konstfack. His conceptual and material practice draws from architecture and craft, challenging the limits of painting. He initiated Unfolding Image during a Tokyo residency in 2020.