Walk
March 29 – May 10, 2008
Reception for the Artist: Saturday, March 29, 6 – 9 pm
Los Angeles, CA—Sam Lee Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition entitled Walk by Los Angeles-based artist Macha Suzuki. The show opens March 29 and closes May 10, 2008; the gallery will host an opening reception for the artist on Saturday, March 29, 6 to 9 p.m.
Walk, which marks Macha Suzuki’s first solo exhibition in Los Angeles, consists of five mixed-media sculptures that deliver a dose of lighthearted storytelling with a splash of darkness and danger. Using non-traditional materials such as epoxy clay, fluorescent lights, plastic and Bondo (to name but a few), Suzuki creates bubblegum-colored sculptures with over-the-top charm and open-ended abstract narratives that are loosely based on his personal life. Each sculpture creates an experience where the truth meets the fantasy.
Suzuki specializes in the handmade, creating seamless objects that are highly crafted. The artist seduces the viewer with WALK (2008), a playful yet serious piece consisting of four wooden letters with pulsating light emanating from within. The top surface is skillfully transformed into an idealized miniature landscape. WALK is an earnest manifesto that denotes not only the artist’s own journey but also the “walk” of every person. Minor Threat (2008) is a life-size sculpture of a snow-white sheep with plastic fur made of white pom-poms on a grassy pedestal, surrounded by incoming multi-colored arrows; a couple of arrows have punctured the animal’s body, causing its fur to immediately change from white to the colors of the arrows. It is implied that at the very next moment when all the arrows have impaled the helpless sheep, it would turn into a glorious rainbow-colored icon. What then is the "minor threat?" Is it the seemingly innocent sheep or the individuals who shot the arrows? As with every sculpture, Suzuki's pieces ask questions and leave the viewer to determine his or her own conclusions.
Suzuki, born in Japan in 1979, currently works and lives in Los Angeles. In 2006, he received his master’s degree in fine art from Claremont Graduate University, California; in 2002, Suzuki earned his bachelor’s degree in fine art from Azusa Pacific University, California. Recent solo exhibitions were featured at the Kravets/Wehby Gallery in New York and at the Biola University in La Miranda, California; Suzuki’s work has also been included in numerous group exhibitions at d.e.n. contemporary art in Culver City, Concrete Walls Gallery in Los Angeles, David Lusk Gallery in Memphis, Tennessee, and the Harrison Center for the Arts in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Digital images are available for press purposes. Please email (info@samleegallery.com) for reproduction requests.
Sam Lee Gallery is located at 990 N. Hill Street #190, Los Angeles, CA 90012, Phone 323-227-0275, Facsimile 323-227-0256. Gallery hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 12 to 6 pm. For detailed information, please visit the gallery’s website, www.samleegallery.com.