Since the start of his career in 1977, Nico had always seen the value of making editions and has done so with several important artists such as Walasse Ting and Sam Francis, Later when he met Ayako Rokkaku in 2006 and started their collaboration that same year, he suggested to make digital editions of her work to gift and as a way to share it with a wider audience.

Years later, as Rokkaku gained significant international recognition, Nico revisited the concept of graphic editions with her. Together, they approached one of Europe’s most renowned printmakers, Valerio Carini from Tuscany, to produce a series of highly refined, limited-edition silkscreen prints. Printed on exquisite Corona Magnani paper, the works are built up through an extraordinary number of colour layers (93 and 67 respectively), resulting in exceptional depth and vibrancy.

The editions were met with great enthusiasm from collectors worldwide. This success led to the creation of a ceramic edition in collaboration with Royal Delft, the historic Dutch porcelain manufacturer established in 1653. The result was a series of 200 hand-painted sculptures that merge Rokkaku’s contemporary Japanese visual language with the traditional craftsmanship of Delft Blue.

Finally, Delaive and Rokkaku produced a third print with Carini in Italy, this time on cardboard. The edition pays tribute to Rokkaku’s early artistic practice, when she often worked on found cardboard surfaces due to limited resources for traditional canvases.