Susumu Kamijo (b. 1975, Nagano, JP), lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.
Kamijo’s paintings and drawings take an abstract approach to familiar subjects such as animals and human faces, playing with forms and colors with concise handling of media.
Influenced by Francis Bacon, Willem de Kooning, his poodles have attracted significant attention ever since they first appeared in 2014. The quick-drying vinyl paint that Kamijo uses for his painting makes every painting––in his own words––“a quick resolution”. The technique of painting quickly to capture something that is authentic is one that Kamijo attributes to his experience of learning Japanese calligraphy as a young man. In a playful meditative style, his work continues to evolve in a direction that surprises, provokes, and transforms our ways of seeing.
Susumu Kamijo received his BFA in Painting and Drawing at the University of Oregon in 2000, followed by an MFA in Painting and Drawing at the University of Washington in 2002. He has exhibited both nationally and internationally in solo exhibitions at Venus Over Manhattan, New York, NY; Jack Hanley Gallery, New York, NY; Perrotin, Seoul, KR & Paris, FR; Stems Gallery, Brussels, BE; Harper’s Gallery, East Hampton, NY; MAKI Gallery, Tokyo, JP; Marvin Gardens, Queens, NY; Kantor Gallery, Beverly Hills, CA; GNYP Gallery, Berlin, DE; Sakurado Fine Arts, Tokyo, JP; Harper’s Apartment, New York, NY; among others. Recent group exhibitions include Stems Gallery, Brussels, BE; Venus Over Manhattan, New York, NY; MAKI Gallery, New York, NY & Tokyo, JP; Bill Brady Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; Harper’s & The Here and There Co., Seoul, KR; GNYP, Berlin, DE; Nepenthes New York, New York, NY; Bill Brady Gallery, Miami, FL; Masahiro Maki Gallery, Tokyo, JP; among others.
Susumu Kamijo will have a solo exhibition with Stems Gallery, in 2024, Brussels, BE.