Hiroshi Senju

Hiroshi Senju was born in Tokyo. He has one brother, composer Akira Senju, and one sister, violinist Mariko Senju. He completed the BFA, Tokyo University of the Arts in 1982. He completed the MFA program in Fine Arts at Tokyo University of the Arts in 1984. He completed the doctoral course at Tokyo University of the Arts in 1987. His graduation work was purchased by The University of Tokyo. The End of Dream, solo exhibition, Manly Art Gallery & Museum, Sydney, Australia was held in 1989. He is the father of artificial intelligence entrepreneur Hikari Senju. His success largely came about in the 1990s in response to his gigantic waterfall paintings. These waterfall paintings often focus at the base of the waterfall where the falls crash into the pool below, usually cropping out the top of the falls. In contrast to the norm of displaying such works in a dimly lit, tatami matted room, Hiroshi prefers his paintings to be viewed under natural light. He was elected as a member of the Japan Art Academy in 2022. == Works ==

Venice Biennale in 1995 In 1995, at the 46th Venice Biennale celebrating its centennial year, Senju, who represented Japan, exhibited a huge waterfall mural in Japan Pavilion, measuring 3.4 meters high and 14 meters wide. Senju titled the work “THE FALL”, which implied the fall of man, in Christian theology, God expelling Adam and Eve from the Garden. During the installation process, a welding contractor accidentally dropped scorching coal tar on his painting. Senju, watching the incident happened, immediately rushed for it and removed the coal tar with his bare hand. He had to go to emergency hospital with his left hand got burned. The only consolation was that Senju’s dominant hand was uninjured, being able to repair the damage by the opening of Biennale. Senju’s waterfall was the first painting by an Asian artist to be awarded the Honorable Mention, for having “expressed the meditative world of nature and the fluctuations of Japan’s traditional culture.” The Japan Hall commissioner was Junji Ito and the other exhibition artists were Yoichiro Kawaguchi, Zaigin Sai, and Katsuhiko Hibino. The site organizer was Kengo Kuma. Shofuso In 2007, Hiroshi Senju created a series of 20 fusuma (paper sliding door) paintings for the Shofuso Japanese House and Garden, in Philadelphia, PA. Asked to replace the destroyed fusuma paintings of Japanese National Treasure, artist Higashiyama Kaii, Senju said, "Shofuso offers a wonderful space for murals far exceeding my expectations, and I will do my best to paint murals symbolizing and important symbolic exchange between Japan and the United States." Venice Biennale in 2015 In 2015, Senju exhibited large-scale fluorescent pigment waterfalls Ryujin I and Ryujin II in a pitch-dark space, and natural pigment waterfall Suijin under daylight at Frontiers Reimagined, a collateral event of the Venice Biennale curated and organized by Sundaram Tagore Foundation.。 == Books ==

Hiroshi Senju Museum Karuizawa opened 10 October 2011 in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture. The museum was designed by architect Ryue Nishizawa, and consists of windows which make up the walls, a gently sloping concrete floor which naturally contours to the ground, and thin concrete walls scattered throughout the center of the museum which support the ceiling. The museum is owned and operated by the International Cultural College Foundation which possesses around 100 works by Hiroshi, about half of which can be displayed in the museum at any given time. His works are also stored overseas, including in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, USA, Brooklyn Museum, NY, USA, The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois, USA, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, USA, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA, USA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA, USA, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Royal Ontario Museum, ON, Canada, National Palace Museum, Taiwan, Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA, USA. == References ==