Hidetaka Suzuki

b. 1986, Japanese

Biography

Born in 1986 in Hokkaido, Japan, Hidetaka Suzuki is a contemporary painter living and working in Tokyo, Japan. He uses a variety of motifs to deal with issues of fiction and reality and implements them into his painterly practice.

Many objects in his paintings are seemingly obvious at first glance what they depict, but they are in fact detached from their original context. Doing so, they take on multiple meanings – and refuse to be connected to any particular meaning – depriving the viewer of certainty. It blurs the boundary between what we experience as reality and what we imagine as fiction, asking us to question the truthfulness of what we see. Hidetaka Suzuki:

“The reality we can find in the fiction, the fiction within the reality. Something that lies between fiction and reality but belong to neither. In my opinion, art is the product of human beings trying to hide, make sense of, or forcibly accept their inherent absurdity? I would like to arm the absurdity of not being on either side.”

Installation view of ‘Estate’ (2021) at ZEIT-FOTO Kunetachi, Tokyo.

In 2014, Hidetaka Suzuki completed his MFA in oil painting at the Musashino Art University Graduate School of Art and Design in Tokyo. Five years earlier, in 2009 he was already awarded the Golden Acrylic Prize at GESIAI#13.

After successfully completing his Master course, Suzuki exhibited primarily in Tokyo but more recently also abroad. As a result, he was selected by Emilia Yin, the founder, and director of Make Room, for Foundwork’s Guest Curators Program. He also participated in a project titled Six Questions by the Belgian publisher of art, Tique.

In 2021, Hidetaka Suzuki participated in the online exhibition Together Through Painting at the London Paint Club and the group exhibition Emergence at the Rise Art Soho Gallery in the UK. Another landmark in the young career of the Japanese artist took place in the same year, as MAKI acquired one of Suzuki’s works for their renowned MAKI Collection.

Artworks

Hidetaka Suzuki, Three Legs, 2020. Oil on canvas – 100 x 80 cm. Courtesy the artist.

Hidetaka Suzuki, Diff, 2020. Oil on canvas – 117 x 91 cm. Courtesy the artist.

Hidetaka Suzuki, Flower, 2020. Oil on canvas – 91 x 73 cm. Courtesy the artist.

Hidetaka Suzuki, Stabilize, 2021. Oil on canvas – 117 x 73 cm. Courtesy the artist.

Hidetaka Suzuki, Get Warm, 2021. Oil on canvas – 91 x 73 cm. Courtesy the artist.

Hidetaka Suzuki, Naming Rule, 2021. Oil on canvas – 91 x 73 cm. Courtesy the artist.

Hidetaka Suzuki, Attempt to Visualize, 2021. Oil on canvas – 100 x 73 cm. Courtesy the artist.

Hidetaka Suzuki, Marker, 2021. Oil on canvas – 162 x 130 cm. Courtesy the artist.

Hidetaka Suzuki, Bomb, 2021. Oil on canvas – 145 x 112 cm. Courtesy the artist.

Hidetaka Suzuki, Advertising, 2021. Oil on canvas – 117 x 91 cm. Courtesy the artist.

Hidetaka Suzuki, Red Basket, 2021. Oil on canvas – 80 x 100 cm. Courtesy the artist.

Hidetaka Suzuki, Value, 2021. Oil on canvas – 80 x 100 cm. Courtesy the artist.

Last Updated on May 8, 2023

Sylvia Walker

Sylvia Walker (b. 1986, US) is an art historian, essayist, art critic, and curator. After contributing to numerous publications, and curating exhibitions in the United States of America and beyond, she currently works as the assistant director of Contemporary Art Issue (CAI).