Emi Suzuki (b.1984) is a Japanese artist based in Kanagawa and Shizuoka. After graduating from a junior college of art, she worked as an artist for more than ten years.
As a result of lifestyle changes that occured due to the pandemic, and in contrast to her previous use of more traditional materials and techniques, she began producing abstract works using soil. Emi, who now primarily uses hand-collected soil to produce her works, believes the tactile process of sourcing her materials to be ‘pure and powerful’.
Emi Suzuki’s 泥(Mud) paintings are spread and polished using a technique influenced by traditional Japanese plastering techniques. Her repetitive process of scratching, shaving, polishing and spreading, helps her work to mirror aspects of nature which take many years to accumulate.
‘I use real colour and texture created by nature into my work, in contrast to a time where almost everything is controlled by human.’