Stuart Lochhead Sculpture announces a curated display of new works by Japanese contemporary artist Shota Suzuki on the Stand at TEFAF Maastricht 2024

Shota Suzuki
Prosper d’Epinay (1836-1914), Françoise de la Rochefocauld, Polychrome terracotta, Height 60

Stuart Lochhead Sculpture has been a standout exhibitor at recent editions of TEFAF Maastricht with incredible objects selling to world-class museums. For the fair’s 2024 edition, the London- based sculpture dealer has announced the addition of a curated display of previously unseen works by Shota Suzuki directly from his Kyoto atelier.

Shota Suzuki
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827-1875), Why Born Enslaved!, Plaster, Height 34cm, Conceived in 1869 and cast before

Shota Suzuki’s delicate metal sculptures depict wildflowers, plants and leaves he finds himself surrounded by. Capturing their likeness with striking precision, his compositions evoke the flow of time, their colouring a subtle indication of the season and of the plants’ lifecycle. A cherry flower in bloom, a dandelion whose seeds are blown away by the wind: his intricate creations reveal the infinite possibilities of hard metals meeting with the delicateness of flowers.

In the words of the artist, The concept of my work is to use the colours of metals to form a shifting landscape. I want to convey the beauty and strength of plants, their fragility, and the fusion of nature and time.

A limited number of works by Shota Suzuki were presented for the first time at TEFAF Maastricht 2023 and were all sold by the end of the fair. This year, fifteen new metal sculptures will be placed in conversation with the Old Master works on the stand, and particularly the nineteenth-century polychrome sculptures that will form part of the exhibition A Room Full of Colour.

Additionally to A Room Full of Colour, Suzuki’s work will join a series of highlights presented by Stuart Lochhead Sculpture, including Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux’s Why Born Enslaved! and Vincenzo Pacetti’s The Hope Roma.

The selection of Shota Suzuki’s works is curated by Sophie Richard, co-director of Stuart Lochhead Sculpture and the sole representative of the sculptor in Europe.

Shota Suzuki

Born in 1987, Suzuki lives and works in Kyoto. An early fascination with jewellery led him to study metalworking at university. Today he combines traditional Japanese metalworking, including carving and colouring methods, along with modern techniques and experimentation to create spellbindingly realistic sculptures made of silver, gold and copper.

Shota Suzuki
Boleslas Biegas (1877-1954), The Demon of the terrestrial sphere, Original plaster model, Height 88cm, 1924