Born in Japan, Hiroshi Senju is a New York–based painter internationally renowned for his monumental depictions of waterfalls and cliffs of sublime scale. His works combine a minimalist expression rooted in Abstract Expressionism with traditional Japanese painting techniques.

He is a member of the Japan Art Academy. From 2007 to 2013, he served as President of Kyoto University of Art and Design (now Kyoto University of the Arts), where he is currently a Professor. He also serves as Ambassador of the Tokyo National Museum, Councilor of the Ikenobo Foundation for Cultural and Artistic Promotion, Advisor to Ritsumeikan Educational Corporation, Director of the Koyo-do Museum of Art, Committee Member of the Van Cleef & Arpels School of Jewelry Arts (L’ÉCOLE), and Advisor to the Tokugawa Art Museum, among other roles.

Biography

1958　Born in Tokyo

1982　Graduated from the Department of Nihonga, Faculty of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts

1984　Completed Master’s Program, Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo University of the Arts; graduation work acquired by the University

1987　Completed coursework for Doctoral Program without dissertation; research work acquired by the University of Tokyo; exhibited in The 100th Anniversary of Tokyo University of the Arts (Takashimaya Nihombashi)

1989　Solo exhibition The End of Dream (Manly Art Gallery & Museum, Sydney, Australia)

1990　The Development of Modern Nihonga through the Collection (The Museum of Modern Art, Kamakura)

1993　Featured on the cover of Gallery Guide (New York); Solo exhibition Flatwater (Maxwell Davidson Gallery, New York)

1994　Solo exhibition Hiroshi Senju 1980–1994 (Takemura Museum of Art, Yamanakako); awarded 4th Kenbuchi Picture Book Grand Prize for Hoshi no Furu Yoru ni; Excellence Prize, 7th MOA Museum of Art Mokichi Okada Award (Painting Division)

1995　Solo exhibition Hiroshi Senju (Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan); Honorary Award, 46th Venice Biennale (Italy) — the first Asian artist in painting to receive the honor

1996　Solo exhibition Hiroshi Senju: Waterfalls & Glasses (Hakone Open-Air Museum)

1998　Awarded Medal with Dark Blue Ribbon for the work August Sky and Clouds (Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art collection)

2000　100 Years of Nihonga (The University Art Museum, Tokyo University of the Arts); awarded Rinmei Kawabata Prize for Life at Gazing at the World: A Century of Painting East and West exhibition

2002　New Way of Tea (Japan Society & Asia Society, New York, USA); Grand Prize, 13th MOA Museum of Art Mokichi Okada Award (Painting Division); The Fragrance of Ink (National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea)

2003　Fusuma Paintings for Jukō-in, Daitoku-ji (Tokyo National Museum); The Present of Painting (The Niigata Bandaijima Art Museum); Highlights of Contemporary Nihonga (Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto); The Adventurers of Nihonga (Okazaki Mindscape Museum); mural Waterfall at Grand Hyatt Tokyo

2004　Donated fusuma paintings to Itō Annex of Jukō-in, Daitoku-ji; served as Art Director for Haneda Airport Terminal 2

2005　Lexus L-Finesse at Milan Salone (Italy); Solo exhibition All 77 Fusuma Paintings of Jukō-in Annex (Fukuoka Asian Art Museum)

2006　6th Gwangju Biennale (Korea); designed dials for Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso 75th Anniversary model; Naoshima Standard 2 (Benesse Art Site Naoshima); Solo exhibition Hiroshi Senju (Yamatane Museum of Art)

2007　Highlights from the Yamatane Museum Collection (Toyama Prefectural Museum of Modern Art); completed fusuma paintings for Shofuso (Pennsylvania, USA); One Hundred Pillars: Form is Emptiness – Hiroshi Senju (Matsumoto City Museum of Art); Solo exhibition Haruka Naru Aoi Hikari (Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York)

2008　Liquid Crystal Painting (touring Mie Prefectural Art Museum, National Museum of Art Osaka, Tokyo Photographic Art Museum); ceramic wall murals Trees in Four Seasons (Akasaka Biz Tower) and Waterfall (Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line, Shinjuku-sanchome Station)

2009　Isobashi Project – Garden of Sky (Benesse Art Site Naoshima, Kagawa); Solo exhibitions New Light from Afar (Los Angeles) and Out of Nature (Hong Kong, Sundaram Tagore Gallery)

2010　Invitation to 20th-Century Art (Gifu Prefectural Museum of Art); Masterpieces of Saku City Museum of Modern Art (Takasaki Tower Museum); Hiroshi Senju: The World of Blue – Resonance with Kaii Higashiyama (Kagawa Prefectural Higashiyama Kaii Setouchi Art Museum); Setouchi International Art Festival; Art Director for APEC JAPAN 2010 venue; Art Director for Haneda Airport’s new International Terminal and expanded Terminal 2

2011　Art Director for JR Hakata Station; opened Hiroshi Senju Museum Karuizawa; Water, Fire, Earth: In Search of the Source of Creation (Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto); 5th Chengdu Biennale (China); Vision of Nature, Lost and Found, in Asian Contemporary Art (Hong Kong Art Center); supervised Gucci’s 90th anniversary archive exhibition Gift of Time at Kinkaku-ji

2012　Solo exhibition CLIFFS (New York); completed ceramic mural at OUB Center (Singapore); stage design for Nihon Buyo × Orchestra – A Dialogue of Tradition (Tokyo Bunka Kaikan)

2013　Donated fusuma paintings to Jukō-in, Daitoku-ji; stage design for opera KAMIKAZE (Tokyo Bunka Kaikan); completed wall paintings at Ekō-in; Art Director for Daitoku University Sazae-dō; supervised KITTE opening art project Omoi Zakura; Solo exhibitions Day Falls / Night Falls (Hong Kong) and The Tale of Genji through the Eyes of Hiroshi Senju (Sagawa Art Museum); Setouchi Triennale; stage design for Prelude (starring Jusuke Hanayagi & Tamasaburo Bando, Tokyo Bunka Kaikan)

2014　Stage design for opera Yuzuru (The Twilight Crane)

2015　Solo exhibition Day Falls / Night Falls (Singapore); mural for JR Onagawa Station (designed by Shigeru Ban); participated in the 56th Venice Biennale Frontiers Reimagined (Italy); completed Southern Branch project of the National Palace Museum (Taiwan)

2016　Public exhibition of fusuma paintings donated to Jukō-in alongside Eitoku Kano’s National Treasure fusuma paintings; Illusion of Water and Light (Yakushiji Temple, Nara); Colors Beyond Time and Space (Yakushiji Temple, Nara); awarded Foreign Minister’s Commendation

2017　Solo exhibition At World’s End (New York); awarded 4th Isamu Noguchi Award

2018　Awarded Distinguished Arts Award (Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia); released Octo Finissimo Hiroshi Senju with Bulgari; Commemorative Exhibition of Fusuma Paintings for Kongōbu-ji, Mt. Kōya (touring Japan); collaboration exhibition with teamLab Water (Dojima River Forum, Osaka); awarded Japan–U.S. Special Achievement Award (New York Chamber of Commerce and Industry)

2019　Hiroshi Senju: 40 Years of Painting – Sublimity and Grace of 21st-Century Nihonga (Mitsukoshi Nihombashi Main Store); touring exhibition Commemorative Exhibition of Fusuma Paintings for Kongōbu-ji, Mt. Kōya (various venues)

2020　Solo exhibition Beginnings (New York); dedicated fusuma paintings to Kongōbu-ji, Mt. Kōya

2021　Awarded the Imperial Prize and Japan Art Academy Prize for Waterfall (Kongōbu-ji fusuma paintings); selected as Heisei no Hōgyoku (Gem of the Heisei Era) and dedicated to Yakushiji; received Medal with Dark Blue Ribbon with Wooden Cup; donated three Waterfall paintings to Izumo Taisha; Solo exhibitions Senju’s Waterfall for Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago) and Hiroshi Senju SPECTRUM (New York)

2022　Appointed Member of the Japan Art Academy; awarded 4th Japan–U.S. Kaneko Kentaro Award (Special Prize)

2023　Solo exhibition There is Still a Light (London); Solo exhibition 350th Anniversary of Mitsukoshi: Hiroshi Senju – Tradition and Innovation (Mitsukoshi Nihombashi, Tokyo)

2024　Solo exhibition Between Movement and Stillness (Singapore); 60th Anniversary Special Exhibition of TOBI (Tokyo Art Club)