Kohji Suwa was born in Tokyo in 1968. He aspired to become a photographer when he was in his teens and in 1987 he enrolled in the Nihon University College of Art Department of Photography. While he was a student, he was inspired by one of Ansel Adams’ original print works and was introduced to the Zone System technique. He dropped out after three and a half years of university and became a freelance photographer.
He was one of the first photographers in Japan to explore the possibilities of incorporating digital photographs in works, making full use of digital equipment which was not yet commonly used. In order to broaden the photo arts market in Japan, he established the Sha-Ryu Project in 2003 to sell printed works through the web and over time, a number of other sales sites began to appear. The project was completed in 2013.
He is actively involved in advertising photography, contributes articles to photography publications, and teaches photography courses, all while creating works primarily inspired by nature. He serves as a Part-time Lecturer at Tama Art University, a Lecturer at Kyoto University of the Arts, and is the Director of SAMURAI FOTO, a non-profit collective of photographers committed to promoting fine art photography from Japan to a global audience.
“I can’t imagine using anything other than an EIZO monitor for my photographs, considering the wide color gamut, uniformity and stability offered. EIZO monitors have always given me the best environment available.”
Read more (English) »Kohji Suwa introduces the new generation ColorEdge CG2700X and CG2700S in this video. (Japanese/日本語)
