User:Aurora222/Osamu Suzuki (ceramist)

Osamu Suzuki (鈴木 藏) (1926-2001) was a Japanese ceramicist and one of the co-founders of the artist group Sōdeisha (eng. "Crawling through Mud Association"), a Japanese avant-garde ceramics movement that arose following the end of the Second World War and served as a counter to the traditional forms and styles in modern Japanese ceramics, such as Mingei. Working in both iron-rich stoneware and porcelain, Suzuki developed his style considerably over the course of his career, beginning with functional vessels in his early work, and spanning to fully sculptural works (which he called "clay images") in the latter half of his career. Suzuki has been described by The Japan Times as "one of Japan's most important ceramic artists of the 20th century."

Early Life and Education
Suzuki was born in 1926 in the Gojo area of Kyoto, a historic arts area in which a number of influential ceramics artists, including Kiyomizu Rokubei, Ogata Kenzan, and Kawai Kanjirō had worked and established studios. He became familiar with ceramics from a young age, as his father was a lathe master and production potter.

Suzuki studied ceramics and graduated from The Kyoto Second Industrial School in 1945, just avoiding conscription in the military during the Second World War.

Later Life
In 1990, Suzuki became Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the Kyoto University of the Arts. He retired in 1992 and became an Emeritus Professor. In his final years, he received a number of awards recognizing his lifetime of achievement as an artist and innovator, including designation as a Person of Cultural Merit in Kyoto in 1993.

Suzuki died of esophageal cancer on April 9th, 2001.

Select List of Exhibitions and Holdings
Suzuki's work can be found in museum and gallery collections around the world, including:


 * The Brooklyn Museum
 * The Portland Art Museum
 * The Metropolitan Museum of Art