Biography
Tom Kristensen (born 1962) is a Danish-born artist who has lived in Japan for several decades, creating woodblock prints that bring a witty, often playful contemporary sensibility to the traditional mokuhanga medium. He is best known for his "36 Views of Tokyo Tower" series, an ambitious project that reimagines Hokusai's iconic "36 Views of Mount Fuji" by substituting the Tokyo Tower as its central motif, creating a series of prints that celebrate contemporary Tokyo with the same inventive spirit and compositional brilliance that Hokusai brought to his views of Fuji.
Born in Denmark in 1962, Kristensen moved to Japan and became deeply engaged with the country's woodblock printing tradition. Rather than approaching mokuhanga with scholarly reverence, he brought a distinctly contemporary and often humorous sensibility to the medium, finding in traditional technique a vehicle for commenting on modern Japanese life and urban culture. His prints combine meticulous traditional craftsmanship with subjects and attitudes that are resolutely of the present moment.
The "36 Views of Tokyo Tower" series is Kristensen's most celebrated achievement. Following Hokusai's conceit of depicting a single landmark from multiple vantage points and in various conditions, Kristensen portrays the red-and-white Tokyo Tower from street-level and aerial viewpoints, through different seasons and weather conditions, framed by the varied architecture and street life of the surrounding neighborhoods. The series demonstrates both his command of traditional woodblock technique and his ability to bring fresh eyes to one of Tokyo's most familiar landmarks. Each print in the series offers a new perspective — Tokyo Tower seen through cherry blossoms, rising above a construction site, reflected in a rain puddle, glimpsed through the window of a moving train — creating a cumulative portrait of the tower as both urban icon and constant companion in the life of the city.
Beyond the Tokyo Tower series, Kristensen has produced prints depicting other aspects of Japanese life and culture, often with the same combination of technical skill and contemporary wit. His work embraces the full range of mokuhanga technique — multiple blocks, water-based pigments, washi paper, baren printing — while applying these traditional tools to subjects that challenge the conventional association of Japanese woodblock prints with historical or nostalgic imagery.
Kristensen has exhibited in Japan and internationally, and his work is available through galleries and directly from the artist. His prints are held in private collections in Japan, Europe, and North America. He is recognized as one of the most original and entertaining voices in contemporary mokuhanga, an artist who demonstrates that traditional Japanese printmaking can be as relevant to contemporary urban culture as it was to the Edo-period world of Hokusai and Hiroshige.
Key Facts
- Active Period
- 1962
- Nationality
- 🇯🇵Japan
- Movement
- Contemporary Mokuhanga
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Tom Kristensen known for?
Tom Kristensen (born 1962) is a Danish-born artist who has lived in Japan for several decades, creating woodblock prints that bring a witty, often playful contemporary sensibility to the traditional mokuhanga medium. He is best known for his "36 Views of Tokyo Tower" series, an ambitious project that reimagines Hokusai's iconic "36 Views of Mount Fuji" by substituting the Tokyo Tower as its central motif, creating a series of prints that celebrate contemporary Tokyo with the same inventive spirit and compositional brilliance that Hokusai brought to his views of Fuji.
When was Tom Kristensen active?
Tom Kristensen was active born in 1962. They were associated with the Contemporary Mokuhanga movement.
What artistic movements influenced Tom Kristensen?
Tom Kristensen's work was shaped by the Contemporary Mokuhanga tradition in Japanese woodblock printmaking. Contemporary Mokuhanga: Contemporary mokuhanga (literally "wood-block print") encompasses artists working from approximately 1970 to the present who continue or reinvent traditional Japanese woodblock printing techniques.
How much do Tom Kristensen prints cost?
Tom Kristensen is a popular Danish-born, Japan-based mokuhanga artist whose witty, contemporary prints — particularly his celebrated '36 Views of Tokyo Tower' series — have earned him a loyal collector following. His prints typically sell in the $400-$1,200 range, making them accessible and appealing to both Japanese print collectors and contemporary art enthusiasts. Kristensen's '36 Views of Tokyo Tower' series, which reimagines Hokusai's famous '36 Views of Mount Fuji,' is his most collectible body of work. Individual prints from the series are sought after, and complete or near-complete sets command significant premiums. His playful, sometimes humorous approach to traditional mokuhanga distinguishes him from more serious-minded contemporaries. For collectors seeking contemporary mokuhanga with personality and wit, Kristensen's prints are excellent choices. His work demonstrates that traditional Japanese printmaking can engage with contemporary urban culture without sacrificing technical quality. The '36 Views' series in particular offers a structured collecting opportunity with strong thematic coherence.