Artwork photographs by Adam Reich
HARUOMI IZUMI 泉東臣
1979
Born in Chiba, Japan
Haruomi Izumi is a successor of “Nihonga,” the Japanese-style painting which has been practiced over centuries. The word Nihonga was developed as the opposite or counter word, to the word Yo-ga, or Western painting, and is often characterized by the use of traditional materials such as mineral pigments, a binder made of animal glue, washi paper, as well as the choice of subject matter such as nature and animals. Izumi studied Nihonga at Tokyo University of the Arts. Izumi’s signature works, including Yukoku (The Scarlet Hour) and Sokoku (The Blue Hour), depart from traditional Nihonga and combine surreal color with obsessively repetitive patterns of trees. In this way, Izumi creates deeply textured scenes that encompass their surroundings and engulf the viewer with their rich aura.
“Nature has a perfect beauty and I don’t find it interesting to only copy it in my painting,” says Izumi. "I pursue new beauty by eliminating randomness and creating patterns from a single motif and then simplifying elements I find in nature.” Izumi’s works are included in the collections of The Sato Sakura Art Museum, Chiba Bank, Keiyo Bank, and Hulic Co., Ltd.
EDUCATION
2005
MFA from Design, Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo, Japan
2003
BFA from Nihonga Painting, Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo, Japan
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022
Haruomi Izumi Nihonga-ten, Nihombashi Mitsukoshi, Tokyo, Japan
2021
Haruomi Izumi Nihonga-ten, Niigata Isetan, Niigata, Japan
2020
Haruomi Izumi: Blue Hour, SEIZAN Gallery, New York
2019
Haruomi Izumi Nihonga ten - Refined Sense, Nihombashi Mitsukoshi, Tokyo, Japan
2016
Solo exhibition, Nihombashi Mitsukoshi, Tokyo, Japan
2014
Solo exhibition, Chiba Bank Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2013
Solo exhibition, SEIZAN Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2011
Solo exhibition, Keiyo Bank, Chiba, Japan (through 2014)
2010
Solo exhibition, Sendai Mitsukoshi, Miyagi, Japan
2009
Solo exhibition, Chiba Bank Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023
Seattle Art Fair, SEIZAN Gallery booth, CenturyLink Field Event Center, Seattle
2022
Art Market Hamptons, SEIZAN Gallery booth, Nova’s Art Project & Sculpture Park, New York
2021
Fresh Air, SEIZAN Gallery, New York
Mori no Miyako no Art Festival: Haruomi Izumi, Sendai Mitsukoshi, Miyagi, Japan
JOKER, SEIZAN Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2020
A Single Ant Bite, SEIZAN Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Online Exhibition: “JO SAI SHO FUKU (Ward off Calamities, Invite Good Luck): Gods and Yokai in the Time of Pandemic”, SEIZAN Gallery Tokyo & New York
Art on Paper, SEIZAN Gallery NY booth, Pier 36, New York
Intersect Chicago/ SOFA Online
2019
Reimagined Contemporary Artists Take on The Tale of Genji, SEIZAN Gallery, New York
Affordable Art Fair Battersea, London, UK
Seattle Art Fair, SEIZAN Gallery booth, CenturyLink Field Event Center, Seattle
2018
DELTA, Sendai Mitsukoshi, Miyagi; Sapporo Mitsukoshi, Hokkaido; Fukuoka Mitsukoshi, Fukuoka, Japan
Nihonga: Contemporary Art of Japan, SEIZAN Gallery, New York
The 45th Soga-ten, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Nikitama, SEIZAN Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Shunki Soga-ten, Seibu Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan
2017
The Red Men, SEIZAN Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
DELTA Nihonga Sannin-ten, Niigata Mitsukoshi, Niigata, Japan
Ouka Prize Exhibition, Sato Sakura Art Museum Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
2016
Asahi Charity Bijutsu-ten, Matsuya Ginza, Toyo, Japan (through 2019)
20th Anniversary Special Exhibition, SEIZAN Gallery Tokyo, Japan
DELTA, Sendai Mitsukoshi, Miyagi, Japan
2015
ShinPA in Suwa, Kitazawa Art Museum, Nagano, Japan
Art Wonderland, Nihombashi Mitsukoshi, Tokyo, Japan
2013
Ouka Prize Exhibition, Sato Sakura Art Museum Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Venice Biennale Imago Mundi: Collection of Luciano Benneton, Venice, Italy
SENSU-ten, SEIZAN Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2012
Wakate Sakka Nihonga-ten: Korekara, Hiroshima, Japan
Wakate Sakka Nihonga-ten: Kaleidoscope, Shinsaibashi, Osaka, Japan (continued every year afterward)
Mitsukoshi x Gendai: Natsu no Geijutsusai 2012, Nihombashi Mitsukoshi, Tokyo, Japan
2011
Higashi Nihon Daishinsai Fukko Charity Auction, Tokyo Art Club, Tokyo, Japan
2010
Haru o Mederu Kaiga-ten, SEIZAN Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Something Precious, SEIZAN Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2009
Tokyo Contemporary Art Fair 2009, Tobi Art Forum, Tokyo, Japan
2008
Wave 2008: Hana no Kai, Nihombashi Mitsukoshi, Tokyo, Japan (through 2012)
Sakka no Tamago-ten, Obuse Museum, Nagano, Japan (name changed to ShinPA!, through 2020)
L’Espoir-ten, Tokyo, Japan
2005
Hato no Kai, (traveled through Japan, held every year since)
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Sato Sakura Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
The Chiba Bank, Ltd.
The Keiyo Bank, Ltd.
Hulic Co., Ltd.
i-com’s Co., Ltd.
Denzuin Temple, Tokyo, Japan
Sezukikai Medical Corporation, Niigata, Japan
PUBLICATIONS
2012
“Nihonga technical Seminar”, Bijutsu no Mado, March, April and May
AWARDS
2005
Design award for Graduate Thesis Work, Tokyo University of the Arts, Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo, Japan
2004
Honorable Mention for the 15th Garyu Sakura Nihonga Taisho-ten, Gifu, Japan
EXHIBITIONS
Nihonga: Contemporary Art of Japan
Reimagined: Contemporary Artists Take on The Tale of Genji