The Hail Mary by Macha Suzuki

Media by Melissa Murillo

The Hail Mary is the new exhibition by Macha Suzuki which right now is being displayed on Rowland Gallery at Maves Art Center in Greenville University in IL. Suzuki is a Japanese artist who pursued an MFA from the University of Claremont Graduate in sculpture, and a BA in studio art with an emphasis in painting and photography from Azusa Pacific University. All of this preparation and hard work has lead Suzuki to be represented by Sam Lee Gallery, where he had two solo exhibitions for about 7 years until it closed. After that, he had a solo exhibition in Wignall Museum, Vincent Price Art Museum, Laguna Art Museum, Gallery Lara Tokyo, Kravets/Wehby Gallery in NYC, Cypress College, and Biola University. Suzuki is now is a Clinical Assistance Profesor at Loyola Marymount University.

Media by Melissa Murillo

Suzuki moved to Los Angeles when he was nine years old. His transition to the United States was very rough because he did not speak the language. Since his decision to move to the United States was so quick, he did not have the time to prepare himself. As soon as they got to LA, Suzuki’s parents put him and his brother into a public school where failing, or having bad grades, was not an option. Suzuki struggled a lot when he was younger because he did not how to speak English, which made it really easy to get picked on by the other kids at school. For a long time, Suzuki felt like LA was not his home. It was not until he started high school, where he felt like LA was finally his home.

Media by Melissa Murillo

Suzuki’s love for art started one day when his mom sat him down and asked him, “Macha, what do you like to do?” In the beginning, he did not know what he wanted to do, but since his mom knows him so well she told him that he should try art since he like making things with his hands. He really got into art at that time. He took some art classes, which helped him as an artist and to become the person he is right now.

“I tell stories, real-life stories about my experiences: what I have done, what I have seen, and what I have heard. I do not necessarily convey these experiences factually. Instead, I dress them up with elaborate fabrications some would call lies.” –Macha Suzuki

Media by Melissa Murillo

In case you did not know, Suzuki is a Christian artist who uses his art to tell different stories of his life. All of his artwork, as well as the ones displayed at Mave’s gallery, has a story behind it, which is really powerful to walk in a see what they look like and hear the story behind them straight from Suzuki himself. Something that really stood out to me about our conversation is that he does not like to label himself as a Christian artist, which I found interesting. I encourage you to listen to the interview I had with him.

“I use images of humans and animals along with inanimate natural and man-made objects. I pull these images from my memories and experiences, taking them out of their original context and recreating them in scenes and objects that seem to be parts of larger stories.” — Macha Suzuki

Media by Melissa Murillo

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