Carrying a mystical undercurrent, Chie Shimizu’s sculptures are rooted in an exploration of “the significance of human existence.” The artist, born in Japan and based now in Queens, New York, has crafted these riveting figures over the past couple decades, moving between different scales and textural approaches.
“My work is about the eternal question that arises throughout ones life: What is the significance of human existence?” the artist says. “Human life seems small and vulnerable against the immensity of nature, yet each life is unique and full of energy, such that I believe the short spans of our lives are comparable to what otherwise seems to loom so large. … The subject of sculpture is always someone in general, rather than one in particular. It is my attempt to entice people to relate to the positions of those sculpted figures. The objects on the figures are reflections of ones life – metaphor and suggestion of what life might be about. Most of my works have been “untitled,” my intention being to speak directly to intrinsic senses while avoiding premeditated impressions. My aspiration is to reach the innermost soul by finding messages in simple things that people see, feel and experience everyday – things that are essential, but easily forgotten.”
See more work on her site.
Specializing in the Japanese art form of paper architecture, Amsterdam-based artist 
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