KISHIO SUGA
b. 1944, JapanBorn in Iwate and now lives in Shizuoka, Japan, Kishio Suga (b. 1944) is one of the most representative artists of the “Mono-ha” art movement in Japan. “Mono-ha,” originating in the late 1960s and early 1970s, is a modern art movement characterized by its unique approach to handling natural and industrial materials. These artists combine and arrange these materials in their unprocessed, raw states, emphasizing the connections between these elements and their relationship with the surrounding space, inviting viewers to contemplate and meditate rather than merely observe overt object representations. Suga’s approach to his materials is an ongoing investigation of “situation.” Through his intervention and juxtaposition, an “activation of existence” becomes prescient, revealing the interdependency of these various “mono,” the surrounding space, and the viewer. After the informal dissolution of Mono-ha, Suga continued to focus his practice on the intrinsic nature of “mono” through impermanent interventions. The grace and simplicity of these arrangements disclose a deep philosophical and spiritual nature. From these situations, Suga recalibrates the way we see the world through things.
Kishio Suga has had numerous solo exhibitions at museums in Japan, including Iwate Museum of Art, Morioka, Japan (2021), the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Tokyo (2015), the Yokohama Museum of Art, Yokohama (1999), and the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Hiroshima (1997). Important international exhibitions include Situation at Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan (2017), Kishio Suga at Dia: Chelsea, New York (2017), and Biennale di Venezia, Venice (2017). Suga’s work has also been featured in recent landmark surveys, such as Prima Materia, Punta della Dogana, Venice (2013); Parallel Views: Italian and Japanese Art from the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, The Warehouse, Dallas, TX (2013); and Tokyo 1955-1970: A New Avant-Garde, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY (2012). His work is featured in many institutional collections, including the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX; Glenstone Foundation, Potomac, MD; Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi; Long Museum, Shanghai; M+, Hong Kong; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; National Museum of Art, Osaka; National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; Pinault Collection, Venice; Tate Modern, London; Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo; the Yokohama Museum of Art, Yokohama; and The Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh. In 2018, Suga’s works were added to the collections of the Centre Pompidou, France; and Dia Chelsea, New York.
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