Available - Shoko and Suiko Ohta

Shoko Ohta was born in Kobe in 1930 and became the third generation in her family to become an artist. Her traditional Nihonga paintings have been collected by enthusiasts around the world and have been selected on multiple occasions for greeting cards by Unesco and Refugees International. Her works have also been commissioned by government officials for gifts to other nations including heads of state. Suiko Ohta was born to Shoko Ohta in 1962 and is a fourth generation Japanese fine-art painter. Her earliest memories include studies of traditional Japanese artistic techniques with her grandfather and mother. Suiko Ohta’s experience living in the United States and Switzerland influenced her painting style and her pieces are characterized by brighter colors and more freedom of expression than is typical of traditional Japanese works. Suiko and Shoko are true cultural ambassadors. They have shared and taught traditional Japanese painting and the culture that surrounds it to over 10,000 students during their 90 years of combined teaching.