Yukari Suematsu

2010　Tama Art University B.F.A. Painting, Tokyo, Japan

My work stems from my interest in the contradiction that we as individuals and as a society can be both deeply virtuous and brutally prejudiced and discriminatory at the same time.

Through painting, I attempt to understand who we are through examining the discrepancy between reality and what are presented as ideals we hold as a society.

Studying the fields of psychology, sociology, and religion has allowed me to tap into a universal perspective to which I hope my audience can respond.

​While not a devout Buddhist myself, my work can be contextualized by certain Buddhist or Shinto notions that run deep in Japanese culture, such as: zen-akufuni (good and evil are two sides of the same coin), mujōkan (the transience of values throughout time), and naikan (removing prejudice and bias to engage in self-reflection and dialogue).

The abstraction of form in my works allows room for the viewer to engage in a dialogue of self-reflection.

Through the scale of the work and their placement in the exhibition space, I seek as well to create the sensation of immersion, which I see as an influence of Japanese art, paintings on large folding screens in particular (such as byōbu-e, or fusuma-e).

The work can be located in the lineage of abstract expressionism but has a greater emphasis on the internal interaction between the viewer and the work to bring the work to completion.

​The motifs in my paintings are created through a method of processing my personal experiences to transform them into something universal that can resonate with other people in various walks of life. The titles are also the result of taking specific, personal descriptions and putting it into language that the viewer can empathize with as their own experience. I then experiment with scale, format, colors, and compositions through numerous preparatory sketches. While there is meticulous prep work involved, I believe the theme is only completed upon the viewer’s experience of self-reflection and questioning. The abstract or figurative form of the work combined with the descriptive titles, as well as the large scale of work and their placement in the exhibition space are all elements that I work with in order to create an experiential space for the viewer.

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Education

2010　Tama Art University B.F.A. Painting, Tokyo, Japan

Solo Exhibitions

2023 Yukari SUEMATSU: Mountains, Sea, Sand, Snow, and All of Us, Shinjuku Takashimaya Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

　 Yukari SUEMATSU: Something Somewhere Far Away, ASTER, Ishikawa, Japan

2022 Yukari SUEMATSU solo exhibition, Walking on the Edge of the Sand, NIIGATA-EYA, Niigata, Japan

Yukari SUEMATSU solo exhibition, Art gallery of Nihombashi Mitsukoshi, Tokyo, Japan

　　　 Yukari SUEMATSU solo exhibition, KURUM’ ART Contemporary, Tokyo, Japan

　　　Yukari SUEMATSU solo exhibition, Arteles Creative Center, Hämeenkyrö, Finland

2021　Dividing the Sky and Sea with the Sand, YUI-PORT, Niigata, Japan

　　　Yukari SUEMATSU solo exhibition, Nihombashi Takashimaya S.C. Art Avenue, Tokyo, Japan

　　　Yukari SUEMATSU solo exhibition, Hotel Metropolitan KAWASAKI, Kanagawa, Japan

2020 The Process of Waxing and Waning, KURUM’ ART Contemporary, Tokyo, Japan

2019　projet N 76 Yukari SUEMATSU, Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

2018　Things Lost Forever, KURUM’ ART Contemporary, Tokyo, Japan

RANDY ART HILLS vol. 42 Yukari SUEMATSU: Transient Seasons, RANDY, Tokyo, Japan

2017 Yukari SUEMATSU: Thoughts from Inside a Ring, Nagano City Arts Center, Nagano, Japan

Selected Group Exhibitions

2023 Japanese and Korean Contemporary "Next" vol.2 - Others' Landscape -, ALPHA CONTEMPORARY, Tokyo, Japan

Visible and Invisible, SCÈNE, Tokyo, Japan

MITSUKOSHI Art Weeks , Art gallery of Nihombashi Mitsukoshi, Tokyo, Japan

Yukari Suematsu and Misato Nonaka -over & lap-, Nihombash Takashimaya Art Gallery X, Tokyo, Japan

FACE2023: Sompo Japan Art Award Exhibition, Sompo Museum, Tokyo, Japan

2022　FREE COLORS, Art gallery of Nihombashi Mitsukoshi, Tokyo, Japan

2021 FACE2021: Sompo Japan Nipponkao Art Award Exhibition, Sompo Museum, Tokyo, Japan[’18]

The 10th HARUHI Triennial art exhibition, Kiyosu City Haruhi Art Musuem, Aichi, Japan

2020　Holbein Scholarship Exhibition, The Sato Museum of Art, Tokyo, Japan

2019　C-DEPOT abstraction, Park Hotel Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

2018　C-DEPOT selections, Park Hotel Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

Prologue IX, Art Point Gallery, Tokyo, Japan

RANDY ART HILLS vol. 43 Present, RANDY, Tokyo, Japan

2017 Shell Art Award 2017, The National Art Center, Tokyo, Japan

Ikebukuro Art Gathering Award 2017, Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, Tokyo, Japan

2016 Spiral Independent Creators Festival 17, Spiral Hall, Tokyo, Japan

2014 2014 Niigata Office Art Street Award, Daishi Bank, Niigata, Japan

2010 Tama Art University Thesis Show 2010, Tama Art University, Tokyo, Japan

Joint Graduation Exhibition of 5 Art Universities in Tokyo, The National Art Center, Tokyo, Japan

2008 Via Art2008, Shinwa Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan

Awards

2022 Finalist, sanwacompany Art Award/Art in The House 2022

2019　The 33rd HOLBEIN Scholarship, Holbein Art Materials Inc.

2017　Atsuhiko Shima Jury Award (Museum Director, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa), Shell Art Award 2017

2014　Niigata Chamber of Commerce Special Award, 2014 Niigata Office Art Street Award

2008　Kōzō Fujimoto (Hermès Japon) Jury Honorary Mention Award, Via Art 2008

Residency

2022 Silence Awareness Existence residency program, Hämeenkyrö, Finland

2017　NAKAJO Artist in Residence, Nagano City, Nagano, Japan

2021 YUI-PORT Autonomous Activity Program 2021 winter, Niigata City, Niigata, Japan

Collections

Pacific Holdings Ltd., Ishikawa, Japan

Shinohara Press Service Co., Ltd., Chiba, Japan

Hoshino Resorts Inc, Karuizawa, Nagano, Japan

Tsuchisaka Eye Clinic, Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo Dome Resort Operations Corp., Atami, Shizuoka, Japan

Shinohara Press Service Co., Ltd.,Chiba, Japan

Bibliography

2022 "The Shin Bijutsu Shinbun,”Bijutsu-Nenkansha Co. Ltd., August 1.11, 2022, Interview

2021 "Niigata Nippo", March 18, 2021, page 21, Niigata Review

2020 "Holbein Scholarship Record 2020 "

2018 “Art Collectors,” Seikatsunotomosha Inc., August 2018. P. 78.

“The Window of Arts: Upcoming artists 2018,” Seikatsunotomosha Inc., May 2018. P. 83

“The Shin Bijutsu Shinbun,”Bijutsu-Nenkansha Co. Ltd., February 11, 2018. P. 5

2017 “The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun,” The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun Inc., November 16, 2017. P. 27

2014 “The Niigata Nippo,” The Niigata Nippo Inc., October 21, 2014. P. 20

Workshops and other projects

2018　 “Sound and Smell” themed family workshop (hosted by Toshima ward)

2017 “Surround” themed workshop for junior high school (hosted by Nagano City)

“Surround” themed workshop for city residents (hosted by Nagano City)

2013 Wooden water slide project (organized and ran a workshop to build)

Hand-woven hammock project (organized and ran a workshop to build)

2012 Giant air sculpture tower project (organized and ran a workshop to build)

2010 Water-spouting sculpture project (organized and ran a workshop to build)