Heads, Tails and Scales: Japanese Fish Prints

The Dolphin Gallery welcomes back celebrated artist Christopher Dewees with Heads, Tails and Scales: Japanese Fish Prints, an exhibition showcasing his masterful work in the traditional Japanese art of gyotaku. The show opens Saturday, November 7, with a public reception from 1 to 3 pm, and remains on view through November 27.

Dewees, internationally recognized for his contributions to gyotaku, has spent more than five decades refining this ancient technique. Gyotaku—literally “fish rubbing”—originated in Japan in the mid‑1800s as a way for fishermen to record their catch. Today, it is celebrated as a fine‑art practice that captures the intricate beauty and individuality of marine life.

Working in both the direct method (inking the fish and transferring its impression to handmade paper) and the indirect method (laying silk over the fish and applying ink from above), Dewees creates prints that are at once scientifically precise and artistically expressive. His compositions highlight the textures and forms of fish and shellfish—scales, fins, shells, and subtle shifts of movement—revealing the quiet elegance of species often overlooked.

Dewees began practicing gyotaku in 1968 while a graduate student in fisheries biology at Humboldt State University. His lifelong career as a marine fisheries specialist at U.C. Davis, combined with extensive travel to study and print fish species around the world, has shaped a body of work grounded in deep knowledge and respect for marine ecosystems. He is also a founding member of the Nature Printing Society, an international organization dedicated to advancing the art of nature printing.

His prints have been exhibited globally, including at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, and have been a fixture at the Ren Brown Collection Gallery in Bodega Bay since 1992. Locally, Dewees’ work has long resonated with viewers who share a connection to the Mendocino and Sonoma coast. This exhibition continues that tradition, inviting audiences to experience the region’s marine life through Dewees’ meticulous and evocative prints.

Heads, Tails and Scales offers a rare opportunity to explore the intersection of art, science, and the natural world—celebrating the beauty, diversity, and vitality of the sea through the eyes of an artist who has devoted his life to it.

Christopher Dewees new book “A Life Among Fishes: The Art of Gyotaku” will be available at the exhibit