Photo by Seiya Kawamoto for the monthly magazine “Shumi no Suibokuga: Hito to Sumi”
Artwork photographs by Adam Reich
YASUKO HASUMURA 蓮村泰子
1958
Born in Hokkaido, Japan
Lives and works in Tokyo, Japan
Member of Japan Artists Association and International Association of Art
Yasuko Hasumura manipulates Japanese washi paper and sumi ink into a unique abstract expression which captures air, light or an instant onto a canvas. Born in 1958 in Hokkaido, Japan, Hasumura studied oil painting at Tama Art University and contemporary art theory under Lee Ufan. Greatly influenced by an encounter with Noh theatre, which she describes as a “soul-trembling experience,” Hasumura strived to recreate this experience onto canvas. This led her to experiment with traditional materials of Nihonga, Japanese-style painting. After studying sumi painting with the master Yoshiyuki Nakano, Hasumura went on to develop her current style working only with sumi ink and ultra-thin washi paper. These muted, tranquil works are often compared to those by Hiroshi Sugimoto. Hasumura’s attitude towards production reflects what she learned from Ufan: be aware and focus on the relationship between the body and materials.
Hasumura is currently a member of the Japan Artists Association and the International Association of Art.
EDUCATION
1982
MFA, Tama Art University, Japan
1980
BFA, Tama Art University, Japan
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023
YASUKO HASUMURA: AIR AND THE VOID, SEIZAN Gallery, New York
2017
Yasuko Hasumura-ten, Shibata Etsuko Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2016
Yasuko Hasumura: Washi no Sekai, Ginza Mitsukoshi, Tokyo, Japan
2013
Yasuko Hasumura: Suibokuga-ten, Shinsaibashi Daimaru, Osaka, Japan
2012
Yasuko Hasumura-ten, SEIZAN Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Yasuko Hasumura Sakuhin-ten, Sendai Mitsukoshi, Miyagi, Japan
2009
Yasuko Hasumura: SUIBOKU, SEIZAN Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2007
Sumi niyoru Chūshō Hyōgen, Gallery Moteki, Tokyo, Japan
1993
Kanata no Mono, Maki Tamura Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021
Market Art & Design The Hamptons, SEIZAN Gallery NY booth, New York
2020
Virtual art fair Intersect Chicago, SEIZAN Gallery booth, Online exhibition
2019
Seattle Art Fair 2019, Century Link Field Event Center, SEIZAN Gallery booth, Seattle
SUMI: JAPANESE INK PAINTING FROM POST-WAR TO THE PRESENT, SEIZAN Gallery, New York
2018
Kaze 2018, Gallery Q, Gallery Bar Kajima, Tokyo, Japan
2016
Nagai Garou Gendai Suiboku 2015, Gallery Nagai, Tokyo, Japan
2015
SENSU-ten, SEIZAN Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2013
SENSU-ten, SEIZAN Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2012
Nihon no Shitsurei: Kissho no Katachi-ten, Daimaru Shinsaibashi, Osaka, Japan
Summer Art Selection, Sendai Mitsukoshi, Miyagi, Japan
Inori no Katachi, Sendai Mitsukoshi, Miyagi, Japan
2011
Ome Art Jam: Great East Japan Earthquake donation Exhibition, Ōme Municipal Museum of Art Civic Art Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Inori no Katachi, Sendai Mistukoshi, Miyagi, Japan
Ueno Royal Museum Grand Prize Exhibition, The Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo, Japan
2010
Kiei artists 7+7 no Shiten, Sapporo Daimaru, Hokkaido, Japan
Invitational Exhibition “Gendai Suiboku Sakka-ten”, The National Art Center, Tokyo, Tokyo, (Continued every year afterward)
The 8th Sesshū no Sato Sōja Bokusaiga-ten sponsored by Soja city government, Okayama, Japan
2009
Something Precious, SEIZAN Gallery, Tokyo, (through 2015)
Japan Art Festival: Hasumura Yasuko Sumi no Sekai-ten, Salzburg Museum, Austria
Ueno Royal Museum Grand Prize Exhibition, The Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo, Japan
International Art Expo, New York
2008
International Art Expo, New York
Ueno Royal Museum Grand Prize Exhibition, The Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo
The 37th Japanese Today’s Arts Exhibition in Spain, Comillas, Spain
2007
LINE ART INTERNATIONAL ART FAIR, Gent, Belgium
AWARDS
Paris Salon award, Franco-Japanese contemporary art world exhibition, Tokyo
EXHIBITIONS
Sumi: Japanese Ink Painting from Post-War to the Present