Sueo Serisawa
Encyclopedia
Sueo Serisawa was a Japanese American
who became a modernist of the Los Angeles
school.
, Modernism
, Regionalism
, Expressionism
, and Abstraction
. He also produced still life
s and portrait
s.
, Japan
on April 10, 1910, the son of artist Yoichi Serisawa. The family emigrated from Japan to Seattle and then to Los Angeles in 1918 where his father continued his artistic career. The young Serisawa, inspired by his father, became involved in the California Art scene perfecting his style within American Impressionism
.
in 1940 as well as still lifes and landscapes. He continued to exhibit, winning many substantial awards, and his increasing international reputation led to private classes for such Hollywood notables as Edward G. Robinson
, Claire Trevor and Frances Marion.
His first major museum exhibition featuring portraits, still lifes and landscapes was held, ironically, on the day Pearl Harbor
was attacked (December 7, 1941), at the Los Angeles County Museum. Sueo Serisawa became known as one of the leading figures in the Los Angeles
-based school of Modernism. Associated with the likes of Bentley Schaad
, Richard Haines, Millard Sheets
, and Francis De Erdely
, Sueo Serisawa helped position the West Coast as a fertile and revolutionary art center. An ambitious and talented artist, Serisawa exhibited in national shows and eventually won international recognition and his works are highly sought after.
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the U.S. entry into the war, Serisawa, as a Japanese
immigrant, became fearful of forced internment
on the West Coast. He and his family moved first to Chicago
and then to New York City until 1947 when they were able to safely return to Los Angeles. Serisawa studied at Otis Art Institute and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He became a painting instructor himself, teaching at Kahn Art Institute, Scripps College, and the Laguna Beach School of Art. Serisawa spent the rest of his life in California, teaching and painting right up until his death at age 94 in 2004. He is survived by a daughter, a grandson and great grandchildren.
Serisawa has influenced artists internationally and his work continues to be exhibited. In 2006 it was featured in "California Modernism: The Legacy of Five Exceptional Artists: Mabel Alvarez, Edward Biberman, Boris Deutsch, Francis de Erdely
, and Sueo Serisawa” at the Spencer Jon Helfen Fine Arts gallery in Beverly Hills.
Japanese American
are American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
who became a modernist of the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
school.
Theme/style
Serisawa's painting genres included ImpressionismImpressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
, Modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
, Regionalism
Regionalism (art)
Regionalism is an American realist modern art movement that was popular during the 1930s. The artistic focus was from artists who shunned city life, and rapidly developing technological advances, to create scenes of rural life...
, Expressionism
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
, and Abstraction
Abstraction
Abstraction is a process by which higher concepts are derived from the usage and classification of literal concepts, first principles, or other methods....
. He also produced still life
Still life
A still life is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural or man-made...
s and portrait
Portrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
s.
Biography
Serisawa was born in YokohamaYokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on April 10, 1910, the son of artist Yoichi Serisawa. The family emigrated from Japan to Seattle and then to Los Angeles in 1918 where his father continued his artistic career. The young Serisawa, inspired by his father, became involved in the California Art scene perfecting his style within American Impressionism
American Impressionism
Impressionism, a style of painting characterized by loose brushwork and vivid colors, was practiced widely among American artists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.-An emerging artistic style from Paris:...
.
Early career
During his time in California he taught and painted portraits of many Hollywood personalities, including Judy GarlandJudy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
in 1940 as well as still lifes and landscapes. He continued to exhibit, winning many substantial awards, and his increasing international reputation led to private classes for such Hollywood notables as Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
, Claire Trevor and Frances Marion.
His first major museum exhibition featuring portraits, still lifes and landscapes was held, ironically, on the day Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
was attacked (December 7, 1941), at the Los Angeles County Museum. Sueo Serisawa became known as one of the leading figures in the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
-based school of Modernism. Associated with the likes of Bentley Schaad
Bentley Schaad
Bentley Schaad , was a California modernist and art educator.Bentley Schaad was born in Los Angeles, California in 1925. As an art student, he attended Jepson Art Institute, the Art Center in Pasadena, and the Claremont Colleges. A pupil, and later a colleague, of Henry Lee McFee, Schaad learned...
, Richard Haines, Millard Sheets
Millard Sheets
Millard Owen Sheets was an American painter and a representative of the California School of Painting, later a teacher and educational director, and architect of more than 50 branch banks in Southern California.-Early life:...
, and Francis De Erdely
Francis de Erdely
Francis de Erdely was renowned in Europe and the United States for his powerful figure paintings and drawings as well as for his teaching abilities.-Biography :...
, Sueo Serisawa helped position the West Coast as a fertile and revolutionary art center. An ambitious and talented artist, Serisawa exhibited in national shows and eventually won international recognition and his works are highly sought after.
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the U.S. entry into the war, Serisawa, as a Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
immigrant, became fearful of forced internment
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
on the West Coast. He and his family moved first to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and then to New York City until 1947 when they were able to safely return to Los Angeles. Serisawa studied at Otis Art Institute and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He became a painting instructor himself, teaching at Kahn Art Institute, Scripps College, and the Laguna Beach School of Art. Serisawa spent the rest of his life in California, teaching and painting right up until his death at age 94 in 2004. He is survived by a daughter, a grandson and great grandchildren.
Serisawa has influenced artists internationally and his work continues to be exhibited. In 2006 it was featured in "California Modernism: The Legacy of Five Exceptional Artists: Mabel Alvarez, Edward Biberman, Boris Deutsch, Francis de Erdely
Francis de Erdely
Francis de Erdely was renowned in Europe and the United States for his powerful figure paintings and drawings as well as for his teaching abilities.-Biography :...
, and Sueo Serisawa” at the Spencer Jon Helfen Fine Arts gallery in Beverly Hills.
Artistic Focus
Serisawa's early works were romantic: still lifes and portraits painted in a style influenced by classic European art. His work up to 1941 had a decidedly Modernist, even Regionalist flair. But history – both personal and political – intervened, as Serisawa later returned to his Asian roots and began painting in an abstract style influenced by the teachings of Zen philosophy, Oriental culture, and the structure and form offered in his study of calligraphy.Career highlights
- Born in Japan, moved to Seattle in 1918 to join his father, painter Yoichi Serisawa, and began painting at age 8 with his father's guidance.
- Serisawa later studied art under George Barker, as well as at the Otis Art Institute and the Art Institute of Chicago.
- 1940 - invited to paint a portrait of MGM star Judy Garland.
- On the day that his one-man show opened at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, America was plunged into war; the date was December 7, 1941.
- The subsequent internment of Japanese Americans sent the Serisawa family to New York City, to avoid confinement. As difficult as that time was, Serisawa later said that his time in New York was a significant influence on his development as an artist.
- Later in his career, Serisawa taught art at Scripps College, the Laguna Beach School of Art and the Palm Springs Museum of Art.
- Serisawa’s works are included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of ArtMetropolitan Museum of ArtThe Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
and the Smithsonian InstitutionSmithsonian InstitutionThe Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
.
External links
- Sueo Serisawa Biography
- Sueo Serisawa Exhibition
- Overview of Serisawa's style and life
- Sample of painting style