From her noborigama1 kiln, Shoko Suzuki extracts an artistic universe that, for over 50 years, has discussed and expanded the conceptual horizon of the so-called utilitarian and decorative arts, having in the millennial Japanese ceramic art the basis of her technique, without language limitations. Shoko Suzuki's poetic sensibility, for whom fire and delicacy are composed of the same clay, intensified in the course of her great personal adventure: the choice of Brazil as her new homeland - immense, humid, flowery, and as full of subtleties as her native Japan. This dimension does not escape the observers of her vases, jars, and plates, in shades that are surprising, yes, but that affirm the sensitive mastery of a technique.
In Brazil since 1962, with a strong influence of the characteristics of traditional Japanese ceramics, Shoko Suzuki has tamed fire and clay in the tropics. This creative experience, of reinventing forms and inscribing symbols, slides into figurative elements, circular abstractions and fluid volumes, even reaching a universal aesthetic impact. Her work refers to roots and plants, to paths, landscapes and the Earth.
Suzuki began to exhibit individually in 1955, still in Tokyo, when she took part in an exhibition of young ceramists at the Ando Gallery. Before crossing the ocean to the port of Santos (Brazil), she exhibited in several galleries and museums in her hometown, such as the Mitsukoshi Gallery, the Tokyo National Museum and the Yoseido Gallery. In Brazil, she has had individual exhibitions at the Anchei Gallery (São Paulo, 1968); the Bonino Gallery (Rio de Janeiro, 1976); the Cultural Foundation of the Federal District (Brasilia, 1984); Museu da Casa Brasileira in the wake of the celebrations of her 50-year career (São Paulo, 2003), among others. Collectively, she has participated in several exhibitions of contemporary ceramics in institutions such as the Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand – MASP (São Paulo, 1988 and 1996); Centro Cultural de Campinas (Campinas, 1992); Tokushima Kyodo Museum (Tokushima, Japan, 1995); Espaço Cultural dos Correios (São Paulo, 2001); Instituto Tomie Ohtake (São Paulo, 2008); Pinacoteca de São Paulo (São Paulo, 2008), among others. In 2023, her work was part of the group show The Sun’s Path, held at Gomide&Co, in São Paulo, Brazil.
1 Noborigama is a type of traditional Japanese wood-fired kiln, of Chinese origin, used in Japan since the 17th century. The kiln is an advanced technique adapted from the early 5th century single-chamber Anagama kiln. The noborigama, which is more economical with firewood than its predecessor, is built on a slope taking advantage of the slope of the land. It usually contains three interconnected chambers, each on a certain level. The duration of a noborigama firing can be up to 35 hours - this slow burning prevents the pieces from cracking. In the etymology of the word, we can superficially translate nobo as "to rise", and gama, more objectively, would be "kiln".