Hiroshi Sueyoshi sits among unfinished red stoneware pieces that will become part of a rock garden installation. “I think North Carolina is very similar to where I grew up — central part, mountains — very similar altitude. That’s one of the reasons I decided to stay. I was going to stay five years. Wilmington seemed like a nice town, by the water, seafood. I felt comfortable.” He believed he could make a living here. “Japan is very old, very traditional, very rigid. In a way, you play classical music. It’s been done over and over. In a way here is like country music, jazz, more open … so I can make some pieces. If I was in Japan I would have a hard time making a living.” Grounded in the rigid Japanese tradition, Hiroshi’s expression is matte and shiny, rough and smooth, sharp and soft, angled and curved. His forms are singled out among others. “My American friends tell me my work is so Asian and my Japanese friends say so Western,” he laughs. 24 WBM november 2014
2014-11
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