Hiroshi Senju unveils his first new works since 2015

Hiroshi Senju has just completed a dynamic series of Waterfall paintings, his first since 2015, which are now being exhibited across a three-city exhibition. They will be showing at Sundaram Tagore's New York galleries (Chelsea and Madison Avenue) and will then travel to London for the opening the gallery's new space at Cromwell Place in London, followed by another exhibition at their Singapore gallery at Gillman Barracks. 

"For this group of waterfalls Senju began his creative process on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The pristine beauty of Hawaii has inspired Senju’s work in the past, but it was the rugged, almost prehistoric landscape of Oahu’s northern side that struck a chord. “There are places where you can feel the energy of the beginning,” he says. “Here, I can feel the echo, the vibration of the Earth and the energy of Earth’s creation.” The artist has a profound connection to and love of nature. He has been conveying in paint its power and ability to inspire awe for more than 30 years.

Senju began exploring the waterfall image in the early 1990s and his approach has continuously evolved since then. In 2003, he introduced vivid color, but returned to a refined black-and-white palette in 2007. Soon after, inspired by the luminous glow of neon signs on the streets of Tokyo, Senju began to experiment with fluorescent pigments that glow a sublime electric blue when viewed under ultraviolet light. These luminescent waterfalls were the subject of several solo shows, as well as an immersive installation that was the centerpiece of Frontiers Reimagined, an exhibition Sundaram Tagore curated for the 2015 Venice Biennale.

Over the past four years, the internationally acclaimed painter has undertaken a number of high-profile public projects, including two monumental paintings commissioned to mark the 1,200th anniversary of Kongobuji Temple at Koyasan, a sacred site in Japanese Buddhism and UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a large-scale byobu or folding screen at Tokyo International (Haneda) airport, Terminal 2. Having finished these large commissions, he returned to his New York studio to complete waterfalls for Beginnings, Sundaram Tagore's three-city exhibition. 

About Hiroshi Senju

The Japanese-born New York-based painter was the first Asian artist to receive an Honorable Mention Award at the Venice Biennale (1995), and has participated in numerous exhibitions including The New Way of Tea, curated by Alexandra Munroe, at the Japan Society and the Asia Society in New York, 2002; Paintings on Fusuma at the Tokyo National Museum, 2003; and Frontiers Reimagined at the Venice Biennale, 2015. He was recently awarded the Foreign Minister’s Commendation from the Japanese government for contributions to art. In May 2017 he was honored with the Isamu Noguchi Award.

Now showing at  SUNDARAM TAGORE CHELSEA
547 West 27th Street • New York, NY 10001
212 677 4520 

Information and images from Sundaram Tagore Gallery