Artist Henry Sugimoto

A rare series of woodblock prints by artist Henry Sugimoto are on display at Antioch University in Los Angeles. Sugimoto (1900-1990) was a prolific artist who immigrated to the US from Japan when he was 19 years old. He studied art in California, Paris, and Mexico and was already a noted artist when war broke out between the US and Japan. Sugimoto and his family were sent to the Jerome Internment Camp in Arkansas, along with the 120,000 other Japanese Americans who were unjustly imprisoned. The artworks on display at Antioch are the 32 block prints Sugimoto created documenting life in the US concentration camp. His family is featured in these artworks, especially his daughter Madeleine, who was present at the opening reception to share memories of her father.

The Antioch exhibit also includes other block prints Sugimoto created during his career as well as several oil paintings never exhibited. After the war, Sugimoto lived in New York City where he became active in the art community. His paintings are exhibited prominently in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. and in galleries and public buildings both in the United States and Japan. The exhibit opened on Wednesday, May 11 th, 2005, with a gala reception that included Sugimoto's daughter Madeleine Sugimoto, his sister-in-law Naomi Tawaga and his nephew, photographer Norman Sugimoto. The show runs until August 1st, 2005. For more information on this important exhibit, including directions to the campus, visit the Antioch University website at, www.antiochla.edu