James Hiroshi Suzuki

JAMES HIROSHI SUZUKI (Yokohama, Japan, 1933).
Untitled.1971.
Watercolor on paper.
Signed and dated in the lower margin.
Measurements: 61 x 43 cm; 81 x 63 cm (frame).

James Hiroshi Suzuki was born in Yokohama. He received private art lessons from Yoshio Markino, an artist who had emigrated to the United States in the late 19th century and spent several decades in London before returning to Japan at the outbreak of World War II. Under Markino's tutelage, Suzuki was encouraged to travel to the United States. He arrived on the West Coast, where he explored cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco before heading to Maine. His intention was to get away from a predominantly Japanese environment and immerse himself in an authentic American experience. Suzuki continued his artistic studies at the Portland School of Fine Arts in Maine, and in 1953 he was awarded a scholarship to the Corcoran School of Art in Washington D. C. He then moved to New York City and, in 1958, was awarded a Whitney Opportunity Fellowship. That same year, Suzuki participated in a major exhibition organized by the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, entitled "Contemporary Painters of Japanese Origin in the United States-1958." His works were also exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art. By this time, Suzuki had become friends with Abstract Expressionist artists who were making notable contributions to the art scene, including Kenzo Okada, Kline, De Kooning, Kanemitsu, Hasegawa and Jackson Pollock. He exhibited in major New York galleries and participated in a number of museum exhibitions, many of which were traveling exhibitions. Later in his career, he expanded his artistic reach internationally. Suzuki returned to California in the early 1960s and began his teaching career at the University of California, Berkeley, alongside David Hockney. He subsequently taught at the California College of Arts and Crafts from 1964 to 1965. In 1972, Suzuki began his career as an educator at California State University, Sacramento, where he concluded his academic career before returning to Japan. His early abstract works brimmed with lyricism, echoing the essence of traditional Japanese art. Others bore the hallmarks of abstract impressionism, characterized by rapidly executed calligraphic strokes. Suzuki employed a variety of artistic media, often using words to reinforce his artistic messages. His creations also had a strong social and political consciousness, which found expression in his later works.