Susumu Koshimizu was born in Uwajima, Ehime in 1944. He enrolled in the Department of Sculpture of Tama Art University in 1966, where Koshimizu met Katsuhiko Narita, Nobuo Sekine, and Katsuro Yoshida, who would later become central figures of the mono-ha movement. During the university conflict, Koshimizu studied under Yoshishige Saito and Jiro Takamatsu in an independent seminar outside the school. At the time, the Japanese sculpture world had not yet broken the traditional norms of the Western canon of sculpture, but after witnessing the process of Nobuo Sekine’s Phase—Mother Earth in 1968, which marked the beginning of mono-ha, Koshimizu began to pursue creative works that transcended conventional concepts of sculpture such as space and volume. As he continued to reflectively question the act of creation itself, Koshimizu began to pay attention to the environment surrounding him, focusing on materials familiar to Eastern people such as wood, stone, paper, clay, and iron. His works, which offer a fresh perspective on the existence and function of materials, as well as their relationship to humanity through slight intervention and combination, are highly regarded as bringing a change in the world of Japanese sculpture. Koshimizu also taught at Kyoto City University of Arts since 1978, where he produced many young artists, even after retiring from the school, Koshimizu actively creates works, leading the art world for five decades, based in the Kansai region.
Koshimizu had solo exhibitions including Susumu Koshimizu, The National Museum of Art, Osaka (1987); SUSUMU KOSHIMIZU: Sculptor of today, of a culture, The Museum of Fine Arts, Gifu (1992); Susumu Koshimizu, Kuma Museum of Art (2005); Susumu Koshimizu, Blum & Poe (2013); and Kizahashi no Niwa, Gallery Yamaki Fine Art (2015). He also participated in various group exhibitions including the 10th Tokyo Biennale 1970: Between man and matter, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, and Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art (1970); The 7th Paris Youth Biennale, Parc Floral de Paris (1972); the 37th Venice Biennale (Planning Section) (1976); Mono-ha and Post Mono-ha, Seibu Museum of Art (1987); Susumu Koshimizu and Natsuki Kurimoto, Nishinomiya Otani Memorial Museum of Art (1994); Matter and Perception 1970: mono-ha and the search for fundamentals, The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama (1995); Reconsidering Mono-ha, The National Museum of Art, Osaka (2005); and Requiem for the Sun: The Art of Mono-ha, Blum & Poe (2012).
His works are in the collections of various museums including Tate Modern; Dallas Museum of Art; National Museum of Art; The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum; Niigata Prefectural Museum of Modern Art; Art Tower Mito, Art Division, City of Gifu; Chiba City Museum of Art, Shiseido Company; Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art; Museum of Modern Art, Wakayama; Mie Prefectural Art Museum; Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art; Takamatsu City Museum of Art; Toyota Municipal Museum of Art; Hara Museum ARC; Nagoya City Art Museum; Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art; Ube Tokiwa Museum. Koshimizu has also received numerous awards, including the 1999 Kyoto Prefecture Cultural Contribution Award, and the 2004 Shiju hosho (Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon).
---------------------Works
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TitleRelief, Line- horizonSize72.6×75cmYear2015Mediumplywood, paper, pastel, wire -
TitleFrom Surface to Surface- canvasSizeeach 84×72cmYear1973Mediumcanvas, wooden frame -
Titlea tetrahedron- Cast IronSize87×75×74cmYear1992Mediumiron -
TitleRelief '91-21Size150×121×7cmYear1991Mediumhazel plywood, pigment -
TitleChesnut and TricolorSizeeach 210×30×7.5cmYear2016Mediumchestnut, pigment
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TitleRelief, Line- horizonSize72.6×75cmYear2015Mediumplywood, paper, pastel, wire
-
TitleFrom Surface to Surface- canvasSizeeach 84×72cmYear1973Mediumcanvas, wooden frame
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Titlea tetrahedron- Cast IronSize87×75×74cmYear1992Mediumiron
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TitleRelief '91-21Size150×121×7cmYear1991Mediumhazel plywood, pigment
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TitleChesnut and TricolorSizeeach 210×30×7.5cmYear2016Mediumchestnut, pigment
