James Hiroshi Suzuki was born in Yokohama, Japan, in 1933. He received private art instruction from Yoshio Markino, an artist who had migrated to the United States in the late 19th century and spent several decades in London before returning to Japan at the onset of World War II.
Under Markino's guidance, Suzuki was encouraged to journey to the United States. He arrived on the West Coast, exploring cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco before making his way to Maine. His intent was to distance himself from a predominantly Japanese environment and immerse himself in an authentic American experience. Suzuki pursued his art studies at the Portland School of Fine Arts in Maine and, in 1953, secured a scholarship to the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C.
He subsequently relocated to New York City and, in 1958, earned a Whitney Opportunity Fellowship. In the same year, Suzuki took part in a significant exhibition organized by the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, titled "Contemporary Painters of Japanese Origin in America-1958." His works were also displayed at the Whitney Museum of American Art. By this juncture, Suzuki had forged friendships with Abstract Expressionist artists who were making notable contributions to the art scene, including Kenzo Okada, Kline, de Kooning, Kanemitsu, Hasegawa, and Jackson Pollock. He exhibited at prominent galleries in New York and participated in various museum exhibitions, many of which had touring components.
Later in his career, he extended his artistic reach internationally. Suzuki returned to California in the early 1960s, commencing a teaching career at the University of California, Berkeley, alongside David Hockney. Subsequently, he taught at the California College of Arts and Crafts from 1964 to 1965.
In 1972, Suzuki initiated his tenure as an educator at California State University in Sacramento, concluding his academic journey before returning to Japan. His early abstract works exuded lyricism, echoing the essence of traditional Japanese art. Others bore the hallmarks of Abstract Impressionism, marked by swiftly executed calligraphic strokes. Suzuki employed various artistic media, often utilizing words to reinforce his artistic messages. His creations also carried a strong social and political consciousness, which found expression in his later works.
Suzuki passed in 2022 in Japan due to heart complications.