Shin Sugino

Shin Sugino (b. Osaka, Japan) emigrated to Canada at the age of 19 to study Photography and Cinema at Ryerson University in Toronto (1968–71). He began his career as a Fine Art Photographer, supplementing it as a Lecturer in the Fine Arts Department of Toronto’s York University. From 1980 to 1986, he specialized as a freelance stills photographer for feature film production in Canada, USA, Spain and Austria. In 1986 he began his advertising studio, Sugino Studio, and has expanded his repertoire to include directing live action TV commercials. Sugino’s editorial work has appeared in Toronto Life, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times Magazine, Camera Canada, Camera Mainichi, and in the Time-Life Photography Book Series. Commercial clients include General Motors, Chrysler, Ford, Mazda, Nissan, Toyota, Lexus Kodak, Fuji, Nikon, Canon, Telus, Panasonic, Guinness, Molson, Labatt, and Tim Horton’s. Sugino has won international awards including advertising gold at the Cannes Film Festival (1998, 2002) and Cyber Gold (2006). Other acclaim has come from The One Show, The Advertising & Design Club of Canada, Applied Arts, Photo District News, Communication Arts and Luerzer’s Archive. His work is held in the collections of the National Film Board, National Archives, Ontario Arts Council, Banff School of Fine Art, and many private collections. In 2018 he was awarded Life Time Achievement Award by Advertising Club Of Toronto. In 2020 he was inducted into Toronto Metropolitan University’s Image Arts Hall of Fame. He has been a member of Royal Canadian Academy since 1998. The last several years of Sugino’s practice have been devoted to the wet collodion process, platinum printing, and photopolymer gravure.