"Beckoning Neko and Bowing Birdman"
Statement by the artist

“Living and working in both Japan and United States has allowed me to experience and learn the two countries’ cultural and social comparisons and contrasts. Some incidents have been thoroughly intriguing while others were truly frustrating, however as an artist, I see it as an advantage to have firsthand experiences because they have frequently given me inspiration for my work. I have used both objects and subjects such as figures, products, cultural traditions, and social customs as contexts and references for my sculpture. Through my work, I intend for the viewers to recognize their awareness and different perspectives of other cultures and customs, as well as their own. This exhibition titled “Beckoning Neko and Bowing Birdman” includes some of my works in the last ten years.”

Artist Short Bio

Suguru Hiraide is a Japanese born sculptor who has lived and worked in Texas since 2003. He grew up in Okaya city at the shores of Suwa-ko (Lake Suwa) in Nagano Prefecture in Japan. In 1993, he moved to the United States where he studied sculpture and received his BFA from West Virginia University and his MFA from California State University, Fullerton. He has shown his work nationally and internationally including solo exhibitions in Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, and Tokyo, as well as international group shows at Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Fukuoka Asian Museum in Fukuoka, Japan and Kanagawa Prefectural Gallery in Yokohama, Japan.