Hidetaka Suzuki: Painting the Uncertain Line Between Reality and Fiction
Hidetaka Suzuki, a Tokyo-based artist originally from Hokkaido, Japan, was born in 1986. He delves into the interplay between reality and fiction through his oil paintings on canvas. Suzuki completed his BFA in 2012 and his MFA in 2014 at Musashino Art University. His artistic influences include manga and Claude Monet, leading to the transformation of familiar subjects into ambiguous visuals. Noteworthy works of his include Bomb and Red Basket. His Paragraphia series incorporates family photographs of others, fostering a personal connection. Upcoming solo shows are Breathing at ACKERMAN CLARKE in Chicago (2026) and Flourishing In Quietude at Hunsand Space in Hangzhou (2025). He won the Golden Acrylics prize in 2009 and the Shell Art Award in 2013, and is currently working on an exhibition about 'exchange.'
Key facts
- Hidetaka Suzuki was born in Hokkaido, Japan, in 1986 and is now based in Tokyo.
- He completed his BFA at Musashino Art University in 2012 and his MFA in 2014, studying oil painting.
- His practice centers on the unstable relationship between reality and fiction, often using oil on canvas.
- Source material includes his own photographs, online images, other people's photographs, and AI-generated imagery.
- His Paragraphia series was made from family photographs belonging to other people.
- A painting from Paragraphia depicts a boy in a yellow down jacket who is not Suzuki, yet felt like a portrait of his own childhood.
- Solo exhibitions include Breathing at ACKERMAN CLARKE in Chicago in 2026 and Flourishing In Quietude at Hunsand Space in Hangzhou in 2025.
- In 2024, he presented Stereoscope at AISHO in Hong Kong, Two values at pokettales in Seoul, and Solaris at PTT Space in Taipei.
- He received the Golden Acrylics prize at GEISAI#13 in 2009 and the Shell Art Award in 2013.
- ArtConnect selected him for Artists to Watch '21 in 2021, and Foundwork included him in its Guest Curators Program through a selection by Emilia Yin.
- He is currently developing an exhibition with two other artists around the theme of 'exchange.'
Entities
Artists
- Hidetaka Suzuki
- Claude Monet
- Emilia Yin
Institutions
- Musashino Art University
- ACKERMAN CLARKE
- Hunsand Space
- AISHO
- pokettales
- PTT Space
- biscuit gallery
- Edel Assanti
- GEISAI#13
- Shell Art Award
- ArtConnect
- Foundwork
- AATONAU
Locations
- Hokkaido
- Japan
- Tokyo
- Chicago
- United States
- Hangzhou
- China
- Hong Kong
- Seoul
- South Korea
- Taipei
- Taiwan
- London
- United Kingdom
Sources
- AATONAU —