Meticulously formed and naturalistic to the smallest detail, the women and men formed by Esther Shimazu (*1957, USA) stand out with their nakedness and with their corpulence as new interpretations of the naked figure. They are unmistakably shaped by the Japanese heritage of the artist. Always part self-portrait, sincere, sensuous, unashamed and voluptuous with rounded bellies, dimples, bald heads and diabolic-cheerful laughter, the figures radiate an irrefutably shiny joie de vivre in their lethargic poses with a mixture of experience and innocence. They make direct, vis-à-vis contact. Much of the subtle finesse in the works by Esther Shimazu, which are shaped by historical Asian sculptures, lies in the careful positioning of the small hands and feet and in their contrast to the voluminous bodies and heads. The hands curl gracefully and are intentionally reminiscent of the gesticulation of Hindu figures, Polynesian dancers and Hawaiian hulas and reflect Asian symbolism and a multicultural humanity.
Hanspeter Dähler
Biografie
- Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii
Ausstellungen (Auswahl)
- 2021 The Candace Groot Collection
- 2016 Michi – Distinctive Paths, Shared Affinity: An Exhibition of Japanese American Ceramic Artists
- 2014 Ohana, Kunstforum Solothurn, Solothurn Switzerland
- 2013 13e Parcours Ceramique Carougeois/ Esther Shimazu, Galerie Atelier Maya Guidi, Carouge Switzerland
- 2011 Multiple Personalities, Craft Alliance, St. Louis MO
- 2010 Portraiture Beyond Likeness, Wayne Art Center Philadelphia PA
- 2009 10th Annual Shoebox Sculpture Exhibition, University of Hawaii/Manoa, Honolulu ; invited artist
- 2008 Menschenbild, Kunstforum Solothurn, Solothurn Switzerland Broadsides, Honolulu Academy of Arts Linekona Art Center, Honolulu HI
- 2009 10th Annual Shoebox Sculpture Exhibition, University of Hawaii/Manoa, Honolulu; invited artist
- 2008 Menschenbild, Kunstforum Solothurn, Solothurn Switzerland
- 2007 Esther Shimazu, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA
- 2005 NCECA Diverse Domain: North American Contemporary Ceramics, Taipei County Yingge Ceramics Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
- 2003 Contemporary Ceramic Sculpture, San Diego City College
- 2002 Hawaii Craftsmen Annual Statewide Exhibition, invited artist, Honolulu
- 1999 Esther Shimazu,Tulsa Artists’ Coalition, Tulsa, OK
- 1998 Re: FORM, The Fuller Art Museum, Brockton, MA The Nude in Clay II, Perimeter Gallery, Chicago, IL Pat Mahony and Esther Shimazu, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA