Shota Suzuki

Metal sculptor

©Shota Suzuki

The transitory beauty of nature

Shota’s hyper-realistic sculptures capture the flow of time
He combines traditional Japanese metalworking with modern machinery
He works with different metals to achieve nuanced natural colours

Shota Suzuki is a keen observer of the fragile and changing cycles of everyday nature. Fascinated by jewellery since childhood, Shota studied metalworking in university and quickly discovered the joy of manipulating metal. Ever since producing his first realistic metal plants for his graduation exhibition, he has continued to find inspiration in anonymous plants, humbly existing in his daily surroundings in Kyoto. By combining traditional and modern metalworking techniques, Shota's hyper-realistic metal sculptures masterfully capture the life force of plants. His wish to direct the viewer’s awareness to nature's beauty in plain sight, manifests in highlighting the poetic presence of these precious living organisms.

Interview

©Shota Suzuki

©Shota Suzuki

When did you choose this craft as your career?: My love for jewellery started at the age of four and only strengthened, eventually leading me to study metalworking at university. During the four year course, I became ever more fascinated with the craft and set up my own studio upon graduation.
How do you express tradition and innovation in your work?: I create my work using traditional metal-carving techniques with chisels and traditional colouring methods passed on from the Edo period. I combine this with modern processing machines, it allows me to create complex and detailed metal sculptures that were not achievable in the past.
How would you describe your work?: My work gives shape to the flow of time by sculpting a plant’s life cycle or capturing a moment in motion. By processing gold, silver, copper and copper alloys, I can achieve subtle colours and create hyper-realistic sculptures to express subtle stages of nature’s transformation.
What message do you wish to communicate through your work?: Shopping for beautiful flowers at a florist is wonderful, but anonymous plants and flowers blooming alongside our everyday roads are just as beautiful. I hope my work can remind the viewer to direct awareness to the beauty in nature that exists everywhere.

Shota Suzuki is an expert artisan: he began his career in 2011