Japanese painter Hikari Shimoda’s next major solo exhibition is currently on show at Corey Helford Gallery. Titled “Questions for Living in the World” Hikari’s signature children, haunting yet quirky, return to Corey Helford Gallery in all of their brightly coloured glory within the gallery’s Main Gallery space.
“Questions for Living in the World” features 22 new works, including five works from both her ongoing series “God is Dead, But…” and “Children of This Planet”, alongside eight works from her series “Fading Away Repeatedly”).
“In my artwork, I often use children as a subject or a motif to depict hope and chaos. In some of the paintings, you’ll see a scar (surrounded by twinkling stars, with light shining through) on the children’s neck. The scars represent a warning about the possible future of humanity, while the stars represent my optimism for our future and the light expresses the idea that things get better over time.
I’ve been painting this series for a long time and now the series has evolved to represent a hopeful attitude when facing anxiety and loneliness.”
Hikari Shimoda
Hikari Shimoda: Questions for Living in the World
Exhibitions Dates: November 18 – December 23, 2023
Corey Helford Gallery
Main Gallery, 571 S Anderson St (Enter on Willow St)
Los Angeles, CA 90033
(310) 287-2340
https://coreyhelfordgallery.com
Visiting Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm
For inquiries, contact the gallery via sherri@coreyhelfordgallery.com
“One of the children I paint the most is called ‘Lonely Hero,’ and he’s the last hero in existence in a world of chaos. He also represents my concern and hope for the future, so I style him in a joyful way.”
Hikari Shimoda
From press release – about Hikari Shimoda
Based in Nagano, Japan, Hikari Shimoda first studied illustration at the prestigious Kyoto Saga University of Art and Aoyama Juku School before beginning her career as a contemporary artist in 2008. Soon afterward, Shimoda was selected for her first solo exhibition at Motto Gallery in Tokyo, and since then has held exhibitions annually in galleries worldwide, spanning Japan, the United States, Canada, and Italy. Shimoda’s artwork paints a world where cuteness and horror coexist, and fantasy meets reality. She credits the Japanese pop culture she grew up with as the main source of inspiration of her Lowbrow-Irasuto style, inspired by anime and manga.
There are often children putting on heroic costumes such as Superman and Shojo girls, an anime sub-genre of young girls who use magic. Through depicting children especially, Shimoda reveals the problems people in today’s society struggle with from within. Children possess a simple existence because their identity is ambiguous which provides her with an original point of view. In her “Whereabouts of God” portrait series of other worldly horned children, she also comments on Christianity’s anointment of Jesus Christ as savior of humanity and mirror of our fantasy heroes. These characters not only represent heroism but an adult desire.
Open to the public and free of charge, Questions for Living in the World shows alongside a solo show by Josie Morway, titled Course of Empire, in Gallery 2. Both shows will be on view through December 23rd.
About Corey Helford Gallery:
Established in 2006 by Jan Corey Helford and her husband, television producer/creator Bruce Helford, Corey Helford Gallery (CHG) has since evolved into one of the premier galleries of New Contemporary art. Its goal as an institution is supporting the growth of artists, from the young and emerging, to the well-known and internationally established. CHG represents a diverse collection of international artists, primarily influenced by today’s pop culture. Collectively, their artists encompass style genres such as New Figurative Art, Pop Surrealism, Neo Pop, Graffiti, and Street Art. Located in downtown Los Angeles in a robust 12,000 square foot building, CHG presents new exhibitions approximately every six weeks.
