We are a non-profit educational organization founded in 1963 by Motoi Oi with our mission:
* to foster and encourage an appreciation of East Asian brush painting techniques through publications, workshops, lectures and exhibitions.
* to serve as a cultural bridge between East and West.
* to furnish information to all persons who wish to learn about this art.
The Society was created in New York in 1963 by Professor Motoi Oi to foster and encourage an appreciation of East Asian brush painting. For the initial fifteen years (1963-1978) its annual exhibitions were held in New York City. Over the years, the Society has grown and there are many chapters in the United States and a sister organization in Canada.
When asked why he had started the Sumi-e Society, Mr. Oi answered, in part, "In the East, paintings reflect the great joy of culture. They are a reflection of an intense personal idiom. My idea was to provide a means through which the fresh, new spirit of American culture could be viewed in Sumi-e."
Professor Oi was born in Japan and in 1958 he emigrated to the U.S.A. where he worked as a printmaker, painted, wrote books on Sumi-e painting and taught art at Queens College, New York City and the Brooklyn Institute of Art and Science.
In 1981, Mr. Oi was awarded the 6th class of the Order of the Rising Sun for his work in US-Japan cultural relations.
