Exhibition:
Excavated Reverberations by Hiraku Suzuki
21 March 2013- 10 May 2013
In Hiraku Suzuki’s practice, drawing is expanded from a primitive method of expression into a contemporary technique of reflection and transformation. Associating the act of drawing with the process of ‘excavation,’ he reveals memories and ‘unknowns’ that lie dormant within our daily life. He perceives paper surfaces as excavation sites, carefully inscribing the moment when the different dimensions of time and space are generated from a limited two-dimensional phase. His recent drawings, in which he repeatedly uses light reflective materials such as silver marker and spray paint, shift their visibility according to the viewers’ perspective, creating resonance with the immediate environment.
In this exhibition, Excavated Reverberations, Hiraku Suzuki presents his recent approaches to drawing through several series of works on paper, applying various different methods. He has a constant interest in the genesis of letters and symbols. This leads him to explore the concept of alternative universal languages, which he relates to familiar environments and materials in today’s world.
Hiraku Suzuki was born in 1978 in Miyagi, Japan, and currently lives and works in Berlin, Germany. He received an MA in Fine Arts from Tokyo University of the Arts in 2008. He has been awarded various grants from organisations including the Asian Cultural Council (2011-2012) and the Pola Art Foundation (2012-2013). Recent solo exhibitions have included those held at Wimbledon Space, London (2011); Galerie du Jour Agnes b., Paris (2010) and Tokyo Wonder Site Shibuya, Tokyo (2008). Group exhibitions include Son et Lumière, et sagesse profonde, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (2013), One and Many, Location One, New York (2012); Roppongi Crossing, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (2010) and Between Site & Space, ARTSPACE, Sydney (2009). His works are held in the collection of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa and Agnes b. Collection. He has produced the catalogue GENGA published by Kawade Shobo Shinsha/Agnes b., and Looking For Minerals published by BEAMS.
Image: circuit (detail), 2012, silver ink on paper © Hiraku Suzuki, photo: Monica Baptista
Exhibition details:
21 Mar 2013 to 10 May 2013
Mondays- Fridays, 9:30am- 5:00pm
Daiwa Foundation Japan House, 13/14 Cornwall Terrace, Outer Circle, London NW1 4QP
Organised by the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation
Related events:
21 March 2013
Private view
In Hiraku Suzuki’s practice, drawing is expanded from a primitive method of expression into a contemporary technique of reflection and transformation. Associating the act of drawing with the process of 'excavation' reveals memories and unknowns present within our daily life. He perceives paper surfaces as excavation sites, carefully inscribing the moment when the different dimensions of time and space are generated from a limited two-dimensional phase. His recent drawings, in which he repeatedly uses light reflective materials such as silver marker and spray paint, shift their visibility according to the viewers' perspective, creating resonance with the immediate environment.
2 May 2013
Artist talk
Hiraku Suzuki discussed he recent works and the pieces that he is displaying at the Daiwa Foundation Japan House Gallery. The discussant was Dr Simon Kaner, Head of the Centre for Archaeology and Heritage at the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures.