Naoko Matsubara's Woodblock Worlds

In the 1960s a scholar of 18th-century ukiyo-e prints came to the MFA to give a lecture. Naoko Matsubara, by the museum's account unmoved by his subject, came for the sushi and sake, and he became her husband. Proof that turning up to a museum talk for the food can work out.

You're looking at cuts made with no drawing underneath: since her student days at the Kyoto Academy of Fine Arts, where she graduated in 1960, Matsubara has carved straight into the block. Nearly 30 prints, from the MFA's holdings and loans from the artist, cover seven decades and four places: Kyoto, where she grew up; Boston, where she started out; Toronto, where she settled; and Tibet. The subjects run from nature and motherhood to music, dance and theatre, from Flute (1974) to The Present (2020).

It hangs in the Clementine Brown Gallery (Gallery 170), included with $30 admission, through 16 May 2027. The museum is open until 10 pm on Thursdays and Fridays.