My brother-in-law, Ralph Kiggell, who has died of pancreatic cancer aged 62, was an artist whose main medium was water-based woodblock print (mokuhanga). Always developing new ideas and projects, he also created large papercuts and collages, illustrated compilations of writings and poetry, and produced artist’s books, murals and mosaic installations.
Ralph was born in Ndola, Zambia, to English parents, John, a probation officer, and Phyl (nee Thompson), an artist and Slade graduate. The family moved back to the UK in 1965 and Ralph went on to attend a state boarding school, Lord Williams’s in Thame, Oxfordshire. After studying Chinese language and culture at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, Ralph lived in Kunming, China, and Hong Kong, where he worked as an editor.
In 1990 he decided to leave publishing and take up woodblock printing. He moved to Japan, first studying at the Tokyo atelier of the renowned Yoshida family of printmakers and later working with Akira Kurosaki at Kyoto Seika University. In 1999 he completed a master’s in printmaking at Tama Art University, Tokyo. After meeting his Thai partner, Ken Somboon, he relocated to Bangkok, where he set up his studio. He married Ken in 2011 and enjoyed being part of Ken’s extended family.
Much of Ralph’s work celebrates the natural environment, using the organic elements of traditional Asian woodblock printing (paper, water, ink and wood) to create bold images of landscapes, ferns, flowers or animals. He used the jig-saw technique to create large prints imbued with colours and forms that reflected his surroundings, whether quirky urban views, abstract landscapes or depictions of vibrant Thai flora and fauna.
He exhibited widely and took part in artist residencies around the world. His prints and books are held in a number of private and public collections, including the British Library, the US Library of Congress and the Yale Center for British Art. He was vice-chair of the International Mokuhanga Association from 2017 and a member of the Royal Society of Painter Printmakers. His book The Third Thing, a collaboration with the Old Stile Press, received the British book award in book design and bookbinding in 2014. Ralph was also a generous and inspiring teacher, lecturing in printmaking at universities in Thailand and China and enthusiastically sharing his knowledge and experience through international workshops and symposiums.
A fearless traveller and keen swimmer, Ralph was quietly but tremendously charismatic, with a witty and mischievous sense of humour and a delight in the absurd. To spend time with Ralph was always fun. Kind, observant and thoughtful, he had a great gift of friendship, putting enormous effort into his relationships with friends and family.
He is survived by Ken, his stepmother, Jackie, and his five brothers, Tim, Giles, Stephen, Chris and Paul.
