Kunio Iizuka was born in Tokyo in 1939. He moved to Los Angeles in 1960 to study art before moving to New York City four years later. He took a position teaching sculpture at the Students Art League in 1968. In 1973, he established and became the first president of the Japanese Art Association of New York. He participated numerous exhibitions in United States and Japan, including a solo show in 1995 at the United Nations. He received the “Konju Hoshou” award from the Japanese Government in 1998. His work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto and the Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.