Trained in pottery throwing techniques by his father from an early age, he decided to become a ceramic artist after World War-II, and established the avant-garde ceramist group "Sodeisha" in 1948, together with other young talented artists such as YAGI Kazuo and YAMADA Hikaru, in order to develop a new sculptural expression through ceramics. Their works did not have any practical use as containers, but pursued purely artistic quality in three-dimensional art. These works were received with astonishment by the people of the time, and were called "objet-yaki (non-functional ceramic objects)." However, SUZUKI continued to create his artworks with clay and fire, not as objects. His use of words such as "Deizo (lit., "clay statue 泥像")" or "Deisho (lit., "clay image 泥象")" in the titles of his works express his philosophy, thoughts and feelings toward his own pottery-making, and indeed might be considered as his answer to the enigma that is ceramic art.
Created with two different techniques such as "biscuit firing" which is applied with red engobe and fresh-colored "bluish-white porcelain," SUZUKI's works are represented by gentle "forms" inspired by animals such as horses and birds, and natural phenomena such as the wind and clouds, which are expressed with a sharp, creative sensitivity. His rich and unique world of art, where the forms of his works, their titles and the images they suggest to the viewers correspond with one another, has deepened year by year, incorporating with literary elements. The first, full-scale retrospective after his death, this exhibition features approximately 150 works ranging from his early pieces to unpublished works from his later years. We trace the history of SUZUKI Osamu's ceramic art, which has transformed from "pottery for use" into "pottery for viewing" and eventually became "poetry ceramics."
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