Suzuki Osamu

Suzuki Osamu has received tremendous recognition throughout Japan including a highly praised, enormous retrospective in 1999 that toured five major Japanese museums. He began his career in 1948 with his co-founding of the Sōdeisha group, dedicated to the creation of works, independent of ancient types, to be created by those artists who refused to exhibit at established studio craft competitions. At the time, this was nearly a heretical philosophy. Suzuki and his colleagues consistently strove to stand apart from traditional works – both stylistically and technically. By the mid-fifties, non-functional work became his focus. Suzuki’s influence then and now remains huge and he has been seen for decades as one of the pioneers of avant-garde ceramic art. He worked both in porcelain and stoneware, the latter for which he is best known. Combining Shigaraki clay, typically with a tooled surface, with iron slip and ash glaze in an oxidizing kiln, he creates remarkable surfaces that change as the light falls across it. His works have entered the collections of museums throughout the world.

1926 Born in Kyoto
1943 Graduated from the Kyoto Second Industrial School
1946 Joined the Young Ceramists Group (established by Yagi Kazuo, Nakajima Kiyoshi, etc.)
1948 Founding member of the Sōdeisha group
1949 Taught at the ceramic department of a Kyoto high school (retired in ‘92)
Worked for the Seven Colors Craft Company
1954 Stopped making functional ceramics
1967 Began executing a series of highly abstract horses
1969 Moved to Kiyomizu Danchi in Yamashina; uses a gas kiln for the first time and begins producing seihakuji pieces
1979 Appointed professor at Kyoto Municipal University of Arts and Music (retired in ‘92)

Awards:

1947 First entry to the 3rd Nitten Exhibition
1960 Japan Ceramics Society Prize (also awarded Gold Prize in ’84)
1962 Golden Prize, Prague International Ceramics Exhibitio, Prague, Czech Republic
1970 Golden Prize, International Biennial Ceramics Exhibition, Vallauris, France
1971 Minister of Trade Prize, Faenza International Ceramics Exhibition, Faenza, Italy
1984 1st Fujiwara Kei Memorial Award
1987 Cultural Merits from Kyoto Prefecture
1992 Honorary Teacher’s Award from Kyoto Arts High School
1993 Cultural Merits from City of Kyoto
1994 Arts and Culture Award
1998 30th Annual Crafts of Japan Award
1999 Asahi Award of Excellence

Selected Public Collections:

Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC
Brooklyn Museum, New York, NY
Hiroshima Prefectural Art Museum
Ikenobo Society of Floral Art, Kyoto
Kitamura Museum, Kyoto
Kodama Museum of Art
Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art
Kyoto Prefectural Sogo-Shiryokan
Musée Magnelli del la Céramique, Vallauris, France
Musée national de Céramique, Sèvres, France
Musee Tomo, Tokyo
Museo Internazionale delle Ceramiche, Faenza, Italy
Museum of Modern Art, Shiga
National Museum of Art, Osaka
National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto
National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, New York
Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka
Museum of Modern Art, Shiga
Polk Museum of Art, Lakeland, FL
Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA
Shigaraki Togei no Mori (Ceramic Cultural Park)
Shiseido Art House
Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
Takamatsu Municipal Museum of Art
Tokushima Prefectural Art Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom