Toru SUGITA

Born: Shiga, Japan in 1964
Medium: Etching & Aquatint, Wood Engraving, Lithograph, Monoprint

After studying painting in college in Kyoto and receiving a Bachelor of Art Education in 1987 to teach Nihon-ga painting in a Junior High School Teacher’s course, Toru began learning more about printmaking. He was a Research Student in the Printmaking Department of Kyoto Seika University, traveled throughout the US and Latin America 1990-91, then the Middle East and West Asia 1993-94. He moved to California and earned a MFA in Printmaking from San Francisco State University in 2003.

Toru Sugita worked around the San Francisco area, then taught at Mesa State College in Grand Rapids, Colorado from 2006 to 2009. Since 2009, he has been teaching drawing and printmaking at Diablo Valley College where he is now a full professor in the Art Department, and was chosen as Chair, in 2018.

Toru Sugita’s printmaking focuses primarily on black and white urban images. He often uses strong contrasts between shadowed and lit areas. Subjects may include everyday objects—chairs, pets, street scenes or freeway overpasses. In 2016 the artist created a series of 12 prints “Transient Monument” which depicts the old San Francisco Bay Bridge being dismantled.

Selected Exhibitions:
2017 Davidson Gallery, Seattle, Washington
2016 Espacio Centro, Oaxaca, Mexico
2015 Gallery Hillgate, Kyoto, Japan
2014 Sonoma Community Center, Sonoma, California
2012 La Pena Cultural Center, Berkeley, California
2012 SFMOMA Artists Gallery, San Francisco, California
2011 The Art Center of Western Colorado, Grand Junction, Colorado

Artist’s Statement

I feel moved when sunlight touches an object in the afternoon and visualize the space around me. I walk out and wander around to observe shapes of shadows. I realize that shadows make spaces visible. I find myself in the spaces enjoying architecture delineated by sunlight. Buildings and their shadows are layered and blended together, create momentary beauty of colors and shapes. These scenes are temporary and will change or disappear in the next moment. They are very precious because their occurrence is the unique combination of a place, sunlight, and the precise moment I happen upon the scene – like an eclipse.
I spontaneously use photography to capture visual information. What results are like quick sketches. The camera documents specific moments of ever-changing shapes and spaces. Although capturing the moment is quick, when I create works of art, I choose time-consuming autographical method of transferring information from the photograph. During the process of depicting information, I become involved deeply and identify myself as a part of the space. I note that nothing is permanent and everything is constantly changing: light, cityscape, and myself.
I choose printmaking as my primary medium. The printmaking process is reminiscent of the relationship between light and shadow. Etching and aquatint help me express my interest in light and shadow by using their rich tones of black and white. The graphic nature of black and white leads me to lines and shapes found in architectural elements. Once I eliminated color from my work, I found myself drawn to the exploration of space itself. My work became about the physicality of three-dimensional space.