New Sculptures

Leo Koenig Inc. is pleased to announce the opening of a solo exhibition of new sculptures by Tomoaki Suzuki. Tomoaki Suzuki employs a traditional Japanese wood- carving techinique to create life-like, miniature visages of his friends and aquaintances. Suzuki’s creations look as if they are culled from the pages of a current lifestyle magazine. Meticulous attention to detail is evident in the hand painted clothes and accessories.

Suzuki begins his process with a series of photographs of his subjects from every conceivable view. A series of drawings are made from each photograph. The drawings provide him with schematics for his sculptures, while allowing him to focus on the details even more intensely. Only after weeks of viewing his subjects, does he begin the painstaking process of carving limewood.

Within each of these works are a melding of cultures, traditional and current, rigidly coded as well as defiantly independent. While the precision of Suzuki’s craft reveals a dedication of practice, his subjects evoke within the viewer, images of youthful rebellion or ambivalence. It is through a thoughtful, patient process, that the impact of the present emerge.

Tomoaki Suzuki holds an MFA from Goldsmith’s College, University of London. His work has been included in the exhibition “New Contemporaries” at The Cornerhouse in Manchester, traveling to Milton Keynes Gallery and Inverlieth House in Edinburgh. As well, he has had solo shows at Corvi-Mora Gallery in London and Michael Janssen Gallery in Cologne. This is his first solo exhibiton in New York City.