Exhibition 'Contemplative Nature'

In their first exhibition in Britain, and within the context of Anise Gallery’s architectural ethos, husband and wife artists Setsuko and Shigetomo Suzuki join forces to showcase a body of work that explores our interaction with the world as humans.

From the purely utilitarian to our relationship with nature, questions about beauty, harmony and fragility are explored through a series of quiet works.

Born in Tokyo, Japan, Shigetomo's first exhibition was held at the end of the seventies, prior to his graduation from the Tokyo University of Arts. He has exhibited regularly at prestigious galleries around Tokyo since.

Despite its realistic nature, the focus of his work has been on exploring the art of painting as a process of contemplation and exploration rather than as way of recording memories as, in his opinion, this has been photography’s role from the outset (the role of photography since its discovery) .

Born in the Yamaguchi prefecture of Japan, Setsuko graduated from Tokyo University of arts in 1981 and had her first solo exhibition two years later. She regularly exhibits in and around Tokyo.

Setsuko's work is exploratory and finds sense within the process itself. Like a sculptor, she extracts the elements, lines and colours from each canvas, giving way to the unexpected, allowing each work to take on a life of its own.