ABOUT
Statment
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. 末松由華利
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: Mountains, 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)