Eternal Garden: Metalworks by Shota Suzuki
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Overview
Photo Credit: Go SugimotoShota Suzuki returns to Ippodo Gallery for his second solo exhibition in the United States.
The Kyōto-based metalsmith fabricates scenes of plant life immortalized in a state of perpetual decay and rebirth.
The Eternal Garden is a paradox where time is meaningless and the seasons converge. Suzuki's collection features more than 30 works including dandelions, ginkgos, sakura blossoms, and violets hand-wrought from precious metals including gold, silver, nickel, and brass. Step into a handcrafted refuge teeming with metal come to life and fleeting moments.
Exhibition opens December 14, 2023 and the artist will travel from Japan for an opening reception from 6PM to 8PM.
- All visitors are welcome: Thurs.—Sat. 11 AM to 6 PM.
- Gallery open by appointment only: Mon.—Wed. 11 AM to 6 PM.
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Works
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Director's Letter
Flower Sermon
– Shoko Aono, November 2023Dandelion fluff, readying to take flight on the wind. Buds, emerging from under worm-eaten leaves in decay. Violets, blooming bodies tiny and fragile. And ginkgo leaves, dancing golden in the sky. Shota Suzuki uses metal, an eternal material, to envision the moment when plants transform—never to look the same as time carries onwards. What Suzuki presents here is not a botanical specimen, but an ever-shifting landscape of changing moments, and the principals of nature.
Shakyamuni Buddha once picked a flower and, turning it in his hands, told his gathered disciples that the flower, more than words, imparts a revelation of the universe. This is the famed Flower Sermon. Plants have lived enduringly on this earth long before we were alive. The cherry blossoms that bloom so young will fall, and those dandelions that stretch toward the sun with all their might will turn to cotton wool, its seeds ferried away into the infinite future. All life begins with the earth, sustains the cyclical seasons, and then returns to the earth. Our lives revolve around this order. The chance to live our bountiful lives surrounded by the beauty of flowers, trees and plants is a gift.
Suzuki's work is imbued with a verdure wisdom that encourages us to rejoice in each life, and to sincerely appreciate every precious moment.
Photo Credit: Go Sugimoto
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Press Release
Ippodo Gallery presents Eternal Garden: Metalworks by Shota Suzuki, the long awaited second solo exhibition of sculpted metalworks by the distinguished talent from Kyōto. Featuring 23 new works, a delicate mise-en-scène of dandelions, ginkgo leaves, and sakura branches springs to life from December 14, 2023 to January 13, 2024. Despite the stillness of Suzuki’s metal flowers and plants, the leaves and petals pulsate as part of a scenic whole and signify the fleeting essence of life. The opening reception for the artist will be held on December 14 from 6:00–8:00 PM.
Shota Suzuki (b. 1987) studied metalsmithing at Tohoku University of the Arts, where he mastered skills that enable him to model that which he sees in the world. Drawing upon rich natural colors, Suzuki imagines plant life from brass alloy and other metals such as gold, silver, copper, and nickel. Hammering flat sheets and long fibers, Suzuki manipulates the hot metal with forging, soldering, and hand-sculpting techniques until the plant structure is a perfect mimicry of its living counterpart. Applying chemical reactions, Suzuki preserves the original and true color of the metal, challenging him to select and pair different varieties that capture the character of the living organism—for instance, the dandelion’s fluffy pappus is an ensemble of brass and nickel.
A commonality persists between metal and plants despite the stark contrast between their constitutions. Though no living organism is eternal, plants are tenacious and resilient, adapting flexibly with their environments. Suzuki’s methods demonstrate that these qualities also apply to metal. “I am creating a landscape—one in transition in which perceptions of time may vary. If you look closely, the artworks are in suspended decay, floating on the wind, or at a crossroads between life and death. Plants and seasons do not end, but rather move around in a continuous cycle.”
Each work is faithful to the true size as it would be found in nature. Suzuki’s fascination with metal began with its ability to withstand the test of time; the life cycle of the dandelion is Suzuki’s central theme of the show—the dispersed seeds return their vital energy to the earth and the cycle begins anew. Alluding to the ginkgo’s ‘living fossil’ adage, Suzuki’s distinctive work is an ancient symbol of longevity and promise. Though wrought from metal, Suzuki captures the leaves amidst a swirling vortex.
Shota Suzuki has collaborated with renowned jewelers such as Van Cleef & Arpels, and his metalsmithing practice has been featuring on the premier Japanese news program NHK.
Photo Credit: Go Sugimoto
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Installation Shots
