Harue Shimomoto
manipulates glass into sculptural tapestries, examining the aesthetic
possibilities in fusing methods and concepts from the mediums
of glass and fiber. Shimomoto prizes simplicity and clarity, seeking
to distill her impressions into forms which express their essence.
This precisely arranged glass environment captures her experience
of a particular aspect of each season: a summer storm, a quiet
autumn rain, the crisp, cold winter night sky, and the reflective
surface of a spring pond.
“I appreciate
the feelings I get from even the most unspectacular nature, and
the small things in everyday life,” Shimomoto says. “I
find the small beauties of nature are the ones that most change
my view.” The fragility of a glass environment has an immediate
visceral impact, which Shimomoto appreciates. But she says, “I
do not want the viewer to be too conscious of the glass. I almost
believe that glass itself is too beautiful to be a medium. Many
people see glass as functional object or decorative material.
I want to break those images of glass and give it a different
quality. Therefore, I am careful to make my work stronger than
the medium.” In her work Shimomoto is striving for what
she calls “a strong quiet: the quiet of a mountain.”
-written by
Judy Clowes
Shimomoto
recently received her MFA in the UW-Madison’s Department
of Art. Shimomoto received her BFA from Tokyo's Mushashino Art
University in 1995, and has also studied at the Cleveland Institute
of Art. Her work is supported in part by Habatat Gallery, Boca
Raton, Florida. In her most recent exhibition, an installation
at the Design Gallery, her work moves beyond the wall to create
pathways through a complex network of glass rods, transforming
the gallery's space into a meditative journey. [view
installation ]