Artwork photographs by Adam Reich
HARUOMI IZUMI
Born in 1979 in Chiba, Japan
Lives and works 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.
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2016
Solo Exhibition (Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi, Tokyo)
2014
Solo Exhibition (Chiba Bank Himawari Gallery, Tokyo)
2013
Solo Exhibition (SEIZAN Gallery, Tokyo)
2011
Solo Exhibition (Keiyo Bank, Chiba, until 2014)
2010
Solo Exhibition (Sendai Mitsukoshi, Miyagi)
2009
Solo Exhibition (Chiba Bank Art Gallery, Tokyo)
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2019
Reimagined: Contemporary Artists Take on The Tale of Genji (SEIZAN Gallery, New York)
2018
Nihonga: Contemporary Art of Japan (SEIZAN Gallery, New York)
DELTA (Fukuoka Mitsukoshi, Fukuoka)
Spring Soga-ten (Seibu Ikebukuro, Tokyo)
Nikitama (SEIZAN Gallery, Tokyo)
DELTA (Sapporo Mitsukoshi, Hokkaido)
DELTA (Sendai Mitsukoshi, Miyagi)
2017
The Red Men (SEIZAN Gallery, Tokyo)
Delta Nihonga Sannin-ten (Niigata Mitsukoshi, Niigata)
2016
Asahi Charity Bijutsuten (Matsuya Ginza, until 2019)
20th Anniversary Special Exhibition (SEIZAN Gallery, Tokyo)
DELTA (Sendai Mitsukoshi, Miyagi)
2015
ShinPA in Suwa (Kitazawa Art Museum, Nagano)
Art Wonderland (Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi, Tokyo)
2014
Haon no Kai (Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi, continued every year afterward)
Mitsukoshi x Geidai Art Fair Tokyo 2014 (Tokyo International Forum, Tokyo)
2013
Ouka Prize Exhibition (Sato Sakura Art Museum, Tokyo, until 2017)
Venice Biennale Imago Mundi: Collection of Luciano Benneton (Venice)
Sensu-ten (SEIZAN Gallery, Tokyo)
2012
Wakate Sakka Nihonga-ten: Kore Kara (Hiroshima)
Wakate Sakka Nihonga-ten: Kaleidoscope (Shinsaibashi, Osaka, continued every year afterward)
Mitsukoshi x Geidai, Natsu no Geijutsusai 2012 (Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi, Tokyo)
2011
Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Recovery Charity Auction (Tokyo Art Club, Tokyo)
2010
Haru wo Aideru Egaten (SEIZAN Gallery, Tokyo)
Something Precious (SEIZAN Gallery, Tokyo, held every year since)
2009
Tokyo Contemporary Art Fair (Tokyo International Forum, Tokyo)
2008
Kanami no Kai (Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi, until 2012)
2006
Sakka no Tamago-ten (Obuse Museum, Nagano, name later changed to ShinPA! and continued yearly)
L'Espoir (Ginza)
2005
Hato no Kai (Ginza Matsuya, Tokyo, Nagoya Matsuya, Aichi, held every year since)
AWARDS
2006
Design award for Graduate Thesis Work (Tokyo University of the Arts, Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo)
2005
The 15th Garyu Sakura Nihonga Taishoten, Honorable Mention (Gifu)
PUBLICATIONS
2012
Regular column in Technical Seminar material, Bijutsu no Mado,
March, April, and May
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Sato Sakura Art Museum, Chiba Bank, Keiyo Bank, and Hulic Co.,Ltd.
EXHIBITIONS
Nihonga: Contemporary Art of Japan
Reimagined: Contemporary Artists Take on The Tale of Genji