Hiroshi Sueyoshi Named 2006 N.C. Living Treasure
9/19/2006 11:23:39 AM
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Wilmington, N.C. - The William Madison Randall Library and Museum of World Cultures at University of North Carolina Wilmington names potter Hiroshi Sueyoshi its North Carolina Living Treasure for 2006. The award, currently announced every two years, celebrates the talent of North Carolinians with distinguished careers in arts and crafts traditional to the state.
Sueyoshi, of Wilmington, N.C., works primarily in porcelain and clay. His work celebrates the beauty of sculptural form in objects of use. The pottery and sculpture forms of Hiroshi Sueyoshi have been exhibited nationally in private, corporate and institutional collections, including the Renwick Gallery in the National Museum of American Art.
A public exhibit celebrating the work and art of Hiroshi Sueyoshi opens in the Randall Library on Saturday, Sept. 30 and continues through Sunday, Nov. 12. Sueyoshi will receive a medal and will offer a lecture in the art and art history department for students.
Sueyoshi works and teaches at the Cameron Art Museum's Pancoe Education Center as master artist in residence. His art is known for its integration of traditional Japanese techniques with the pottery-making traditions of North Carolina. "Western people say my work is so Oriental. And I go back to Japan, and they say this is so Western," he said.
It is this synthesis, inspired by a love of both cultures, that sets Sueyoshi's work apart. A native of Tokyo, Japan, he came to North Carolina in 1971 to help design and build Humble Mill Pottery in Asheboro, N.C. He has lived and worked in North Carolina ever since. Before moving to the United States, Sueyoshi studied at Tokyo Aeronautical College and Ochanomizu Design Academy, and served as apprentice to Masanao Narui in Mashiko, Japan. He has taught in North Carolina at the Sampson Technical Institute in Sampson County, the Wilson Technical Institute in Wilson County and Cape Fear Community College.
Randall Library seeks to hold a portion of the works of each of the N.C. Living Treasure award recipients in the library's permanent collection as part of the Museum of World Cultures. A video interview is created at the recipient's studio or work place that becomes part of an extensive oral history in Special Collections. In addition, the library will continue to grow its present collection of Sueyoshi's papers.
The William Madison Randall Library is open on Saturdays from noon until 8 p.m.; on Sundays from 1 p.m. until 3 a.m.; Mon. - Thurs. from 7 a.m. until 3 a.m.; and on Fridays from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m.
Former North Carolina Living Treasures are:
2004 Ben Owen III, potter Seagrove, N.C.
1997 Billie Ruth Sudduth, basket weaver Bakersville, N.C.
1995 Arval Woody, chair maker Spruce Pine, N.C.
1994 Sidney Luck, potter Seagrove, N.C.
1993 Harvey K. Littleton, studio glass pioneer Spruce Pine, N.C.
1992 John Braxton, master gunsmith Snow Camp, N.C.
1991 Robert and Ruth Ann Rigaud, music instrument builders Greensboro, N.C.
1990 Bea Hensley, master blacksmith Spruce Pine, N.C.
1989 Sid Oakley, potter Creedmoor, N.C.
1988 Thayer Francie, marquetarian Spruce Pine, N.C.
1987 Julian Guthrie, boatwright Harkers Island,N.C.
Media Contact: Sherman Hayes, UNCW University Librarian, William Madison Randall Library, hayess@uncw.edu, 910.962.3270
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Hiroshi Sueyoshi
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