Mary Serizawa

Artist Statement

My Japanese heritage is central to my work. Much of what I paint is influenced by time spent in the kitchen and at the dinner table with my mother, a farmer’s daughter from Shizuoka, Japan. She taught me that care lives in the details, a value that guides the way I approach my paintings.
My work reflects both my Western and Eastern heritage. The still life tradition in oil painting comes from Europe, while my subject matter is Japanese. The work is a mix of East and West, like me.
I work primarily in oil, and enjoy weaving, block printing, and mixed media. My goal is to create work that feels comforting, warm, and accessible, while honoring my roots.
During cancer treatment in 2020 and 2021, I imagined the blood of my Japanese grandmother, aunts, mother, and sister flowing through me as it mixed with the strong chemo medications. On the other side of treatment and cancer-free, my perspective and focus shifted. The everyday became precious. Nourishing the senses became essential, almost a religion for me. I began practicing the way of tea and returned to oil painting, both as meditation and self-care. I reached for Japanese food. Along the way, I remembered a phrase I once heard: In Japan, you eat with your eyes first.
I reflected on the beauty of Japanese food and the comfort of miso soup made with love.
This Japanese comfort food series is the result.