A fusion of abstract expression and calligraphy

The artist Suzuki Seirei is garnering attention for his abstract paintings, which feature sharp brushstrokes on cool, ice-like colored surfaces and a balance between rationally constructed geometric elements and lines bursting with physicality. He combines the essence of Western abstract expressionism, which he was influenced by, and Japanese avant-garde calligraphy art to develop a sublime worldview.

Seirei Suzuki began her career as an artist in 2021 and has received various art awards to date. In 2023, she attracted 2,000 visitors to the "Contemporary Artist Exhibition: Silhouettes of Beauty" (Mitsuo Aida Museum of Art), and also exhibited at "World Art Dubai," one of the largest art events in the Middle East, held in Dubai. Since her debut, she has been active at a breakneck pace.

When he visited Melbourne, Australia at the age of 20, he was impressed by the art that was rooted in every corner of the city, such as in train stations and libraries, and went on to study graphic design and Western painting at the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University.

Pursuing graceful line expression

While studying digital techniques such as 3D and animation, Suzuki became interested in Surrealism. Ever since he was a child, Suzuki had no interest in faithfully replicating what was in front of him, and instead wanted to depict the inner workings of human beings. He was influenced by the works of Surrealism, which emphasize and express the unconscious, which does not have a visible form in reality, and from there he encountered abstract expression such as action painting. Suzuki, who says he has a "line fetish and his eyes are drawn to the flowing lines on the surface of water and the ridges of mountains," was particularly drawn to the organic expression of lines.

"I encountered abstract expressionism, as typified by Jackson Pollock, and was overwhelmed and strongly influenced by his free style of expression and the power of his larger-than-life lines. On the other hand, the all-over expression that seemed to fill Pollock's canvases gave the impression that each line was crowded together and seemed strained, so I began to want to create strokes that had a sense of dynamism and gave the impression that each line was alive."

After returning to Japan, Suzuki studied under a calligrapher to pursue the possibilities of linear expression. He aims to combine the spatiality and breath of lines in calligraphy with Western abstract expression. He seeks to depict the beauty of nature. He believes that the ultimate beauty lies in the beauty of nature, and he seeks new aesthetics by integrating traditional techniques with the latest technology and Eastern and Western art techniques.

"The flow of a river seems irregular yet regular; it seems disharmonious yet harmonious. There is no conflict in natural beauty. Even if you try to express that beauty in words, you cannot capture it. I want to stand between the conscious and unconscious and create works that challenge the senses beyond linguistic expression."

In the series "The Soul Types," he imagines human dialogue before the invention of writing. He visualizes "isn't communication without words, such as telepathy or feeling, like a crystallization of sensitivities that resonate with each other? A phenomenon in which sensitivities that cannot be expressed in words resonate with each other." In addition, in the work "Creation of the World," he did not presuppose a form in advance, but instead removed all unnecessary parts "like a sculpture made from a single piece of wood." Each work depicts the struggle between the parts that humans try to control and the parts that they cannot control, in other words, the conscious and the unconscious, and makes you feel that beauty lies in that tension.

Aesthetics born from lines of all intents and purposes

Literary and art critic Harold Rosenberg commented that "the image is ultimately a tension" in Action Painting, a type of American Abstract Expressionism, and saw the canvas as a place where events occur. Since the appearance of Jackson Pollock, form, color, and composition of the canvas have only been secondary elements, and the importance has been placed on the artist's physicality, how he or she has wrestled with the material and painted it.

Seirei Suzuki pursues the aesthetics of lines through various endeavors, such as cutting her own brushes and creating unique tools. She believes that the present, in which we face many issues such as race, religion, and gender, is an "age of integration," and she has set forth "Recompositon" to reconstruct a new era by incorporating not only the use of tools but also a variety of old and new values. Her powerful lines evoke the raw energy of a struggle with the material and the reality of living in the present.