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Studio Visit: Behind the Scenes with Hikari Shimoda

While in Western culture, bunnies are considered friendly, benign creatures, in Japan they represent lonesome spirits. Hikari Shimoda (featured in Hi-Fructose Vol. 29), a private, contemplative artist, often likens herself to these bushy-tailed furry friends. Based in Nagana, Japan, Shimoda has made LA her temporary home as she prepares for her solo show at CHG Circa, "Fantastic Planet, Goodbye Man," opening July 19 in Culver City. Coincidentally enough, on the first day of her stay, Shimoda found and rescued a stray pet rabbit who has been her studio companion as she finalizes her new body of work.

While in Western culture, bunnies are considered friendly, benign creatures, in Japan they represent lonesome spirits. Hikari Shimoda (featured in Hi-Fructose Vol. 29), a private, contemplative artist, often likens herself to these bushy-tailed furry friends. Based in Nagana, Japan, Shimoda has made LA her temporary home as she prepares for her solo show at CHG Circa, “Fantastic Planet, Goodbye Man,” opening July 19 in Culver City. Coincidentally enough, on the first day of her stay, Shimoda found and rescued a stray pet rabbit who has been her studio companion as she finalizes her new body of work.

Filled with myriad pastel and iridescent shades, Shimoda’s paintings of injured children intermingle the grotesque with visual opulence and suggestions of childhood innocence. She paints sparkles, stars and kaleidoscopic reflections of color that evoke something along the lines of glitter dust falling from a unicorn’s tail. Yet within this kawaii imagery, there are deep notes of sadness evoked by the characters’ tragic eyes and improbable physical scars. One of the paintings in the show features a long-haired girl whose amulet and pigtails recalls the popular Japanese cartoon Sailer Moon. Yet, as Shimoda explained, the youthful character represents Buddha Amitābha, the celestial Buddha whose name translates from Sanskrit to “infinite light.” Hi-Fructose visited Shimoda in her LA studio to get a sneak peek of her works in progress before “Fantastic Planet, Goodbye Man” opens on July 19.

Photos by Caro.

Topics

chg circa, Fantastic Planet Goodbye Man, Hikari Shimoda

chg circa, Dreamlands, Sweet Streets

March 2, 2015

Illustrious fantasies unravel in the "Dreamlands" group show, opening at Corey Helford Gallery's CHG Circa space on March 14. Guest curator Caro (who is also our Hi-Fructose staff blogger) brings her Japanese Pop Art-inspired aesthetic to the show; she works with many of the featured artists, like So Youn Lee and Hikari Shimoda, through her arts platform Sweet Streets. The exhibition features 35 artists, many of whom our readers will recognize, such as Naoto Hattori, Tom Bagshaw, Hannah Faith Yata, Lola, Kazuki Takamatsu (HF Vol. 33 cover artist), and many others. The artists in the show were invited to interpret their dreams, and the resulting work is soft, utopian, and surreal.

Preview: Hikari Shimoda at Artcomplex Center of Tokyo

Artcomplex Center of Tokyo, Hikari Shimoda

January 15, 2015

Hikari Shimoda contemplates the nature of good and evil throughout her body of work. Deceptively naive at a first glance, her brightly-colored paintings feature child characters grappling with the destruction of the world. Their physical scars and zombie-like eyes hint at the brutality they have witnessed. Shimoda's latest solo show, which features new works as well as a retrospective, opens at Artcomplex Center of Tokyo on January 14 with a reception on January 17.

Opening Night: “Art Collector Starter Kit” 2 at CHG Circa

chg circa, Hikari Shimoda, Lola, Natalia Fabia, So Youn Lee

September 5, 2014

Last Saturday, CHG Circa offered pint sized works by their favorite artists in "Art Collector Starter Kit" 2. If you're like most collectors, you know how to buy art on a piece-by-piece basis, but may not be all that well versed in the art that is collecting. This show offers a solution. In the gallery's own words, "The motivation behind an exhibition of all 12”x12” paintings stems from the fact that newer collectors, or enthusiasts, who have never bought an original piece from one of their favorite artists, may now do so."

Opening Night: Beau Stanton and Ray Caesar at CHG Circa

beau stanton, chg circa, digitla painting, ray caesar

April 25, 2014

Last weekend, Corey Helford Gallery’s Circa opened Ray Caesar and Beau Stanton's side by side solo shows. Each artist reveals something personal in his new series. For his previous showing at Circa, “New and Rare Works” (reviewed here), Caesar reflected on memories of his experiences at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Now with “A Tainted Virtue”, he’s diving even deeper into emotional themes that only his surreal fantasy heroines can express. Read more after the jump.

Studio Visit: Behind the Scenes with Hikari Shimoda

Preview: “Dreamlands” Group Show at CHG Circa

Preview: Hikari Shimoda at Artcomplex Center of Tokyo

Opening Night: “Art Collector Starter Kit” 2 at CHG Circa

Opening Night: Beau Stanton and Ray Caesar at CHG Circa

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