Aiko Suzuki

Geraldine Aiko Suzuki (October 22, 1937 – December 31, 2005) was a Canadian textile and visual artist. She began her career in art as a painter before becoming a free-form set designer with the Toronto Dance Theatre. Suzuki produced a directory of Japanese-Canadian artists called Japanese Canadians in the Arts in 1994 and co-founded the Gendai Gallery, a non-profit art space at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto that same year. She was an elected member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.

Early life Suzuki was born in Vancouver on October 22, 1937, and was of Japanese ancestry. She was the third of four children of Kaoru and Setsu Suzuki, who were residents of Marpole, British Columbia. all members of her family had English and Japanese names. In 1942, along with other Japanese families, One such piece was Study. For A Song In The Distance that she hung with three ropes hanging over the stage in December 1969. In 1969, she designed the sat of David Earle's ballet Thread of Sand at the Toronto Dance Theatre, also working with choreographer Trish Beatty on several productions at the company.

Her suspended white fibre waterfall sculpture, Lyra, named after the Greek goddess of the harp, was installed in the foyer of the Toronto Public Library in 1981. She designed the set for the National Ballet of Canada's production of Earle's ballet Realm that premiered in May 1985. Suzuki was a champion of diverse communities ranging from Japanese-Canadian, Indian and Inuit artists, such as when she coordinated the exhibition Visions of Power: Contemporary Art by First Nations, Inuit and Japanese Canadians in 1991. teaching art at the Upper Canada College and film animation at Harbourfront. Suzuki also worked with the Inner City Angels organization.

Technique She employed strands of fibre to explore three-dimensional spatial forms of dramatic, emotional impact, and manipulated the individual strands of fibres into her works. Suzuki worked with a wide variety of media, going from monumental textiles, to acrylic, monoprints and oils, and relied on color, mood and texture. Lotta Dempsey of the Toronto Star wrote, "Suzuki's distinct approach is so New Wave she may very well be a pioneer in her field."

Personal life She married the Hungarian iconoclastic makeup artist Alexander Szlavnics in 1965 but the marriage was dissolved soon after. There was one daughter of the marriage. Suzuki was diagnosed with breast cancer in mid-2002 and was given six months to live. She died at her home in Toronto on December 31, 2005. Suzuki's memorial service took place at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre on January 14, 2006.