This is a blog that introduces contemporary artworks that can be hung in your home, in the hope of conveying the joy of incorporating art into your daily life.
I hope that by getting to know the artworks and artists, you will be able to encounter a special piece of art for yourself.
In this video, I introduce “The 9th Gallery SUDOH Exhibition- Hymn to Humanity – Sokichi Suga Exhibition”.
Video of the exhibition held from September 1 (Sun) to September 8 (Sun), 2024
Venue：Gallery Zen
Exhibition with Video
Thank you for watching our video.
His oil paintings have an uneven matiere and austere colors. I am attracted to his humorous expression of shapes.
His objects, which are a combination of scrap pieces without changing their shapes as much as possible, also have a title that is aptly descriptive.
How did you all feel?
What did Sokichi Suga see and feel while drawing sketches in Japan, China, Mexico, France, the U.S., and many other countries, and what did he capture beyond his gaze?
I am intrigued by the fact that he left behind sketches of ordinary scenes in the city.
Works with motifs of subcultures and characters are popular in the world as contemporary art in Japan today, and he has been working with these elements since the 1950s. However, there is a small sense that he is drawing what he wants to draw, regardless of whether it is manga or abstract or anything else.
Sokichi Suga (1905-1982) Biography
1905 Born in Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture
1938 Joins the Public Relations Department of the Manchuria Railway Company’s Peotan Jiang Railway Bureau (now in northeastern China)
1941 Holds a sketch exhibition in Peotan Jiang
Around this time, he met Hisaya Morishige, an announcer at the Shinkyo Broadcasting Station.
1945 Returns to Japan temporarily from China, and the war ends.
1947 Serves in the Occupation Forces (Red Thunders) stationed in Kobe
1950 Moves to Tokyo and becomes a commissioned cartoonist for the Mainichi Shimbun, drawing cartoons and illustrations.
1958 Held his first solo exhibition in Ginza, Tokyo.
1963 Moved to the U.S., held many one-man shows in New York and other cities
1972 Returned to Japan and held a solo exhibition in Himeji, followed by solo exhibitions mainly in Tokyo
1982 “The World of Sokichi Suga” held at Ikeda 20th Century Museum of Art
Died during the exhibition (at the age of 77).
1990 “Retrospective: The World of Sokichi Suga” at the Ikeda 20th Century Museum of Art.
1991 “Retrospective: Sokichi Suga” at the Himeji Municipal Museum of Art
At this time, he met Hisaya Morishige, an announcer at the Shinkyo Broadcasting Station.
1994 “Sokichi Suga Special Exhibition” (Gallery SUDOH, Machida)
1996 “Hear the Voice of Life – Sokichi Suga” (Gallery SUDOH, Machida)
1997 “Sokichi Suga Exhibition” (Tama Art University Museum)
1998 “Sokichi Suga: Silent Humor” (Fukuno-cho, Toyama)
His family donated many of Sokichi Suga’s works to the town.
1998 “Sokichi Suga Exhibition” – Quiet Humor (Fukuno-cho, Toyama Prefecture)
1999 “Hymn to Humanity- Sokichi Suga Exhibition” (Gallery SUDOH, Ginza)
2006 “Hear the Voice of Life – Sokichi Suga Exhibition” (Yubunsha, Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture)
2017 “Sokichi Suga 110th Anniversary Exhibition” (Fukuno-cho, Toyama)
2020 “The World of Sokichi Suga” (Gallery NEW Shinkuro, Odawara)
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About Sokichi Suga, we share the website of Fukuno Cultural and Creative Center Helios for those who are interested.
Helios Fukuno Cultural and Creative Center
Introduction to the Collection
Lecture by Ichiro Sudo, Director of Gallery SUDOH
Reading by Yoko Izumida, Storyteller
Rakugo by Shirara Tatekawa, Tatekawa-style rakugo master.
Cooperation：Gallery Zen・Gallery SUDOH
Artists： Sokichi Suga
Camera/Edit：DE art
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
