For Lack of Better Words 2022 Oil and acrylic on canvas 60 x 48 in
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Shingo Yamazaki specialized in painting at the University of Hawaiʻi (BA, 2014). Yamazaki’s work addresses the complexities of cultural hybridity and identity, and the meaning of home. Through his paintings, he navigates having shallow personal connections to a place while being a part of communities with deep ancestral heritages. He draws upon a mixture of cultures, iconographies, and imagery from his upbringing in Hawaiʻi to his recent migration to Los Angeles. His artistic practice oscillates between the real and the imaginary, creating narratives that explore themes such as generational trauma, anxiety, and invisibility.
Yamazaki recreates and reconstructs familiar domestic spaces, often pulled from personal history and referencing the flora, fauna, and landscape of hometown of Honolulu. Within personal narratives, a variety of forms of interjections bury and uncover tableaus as a visual mediation of themes such as generational trauma, anxieties, and invisibility. Obstructive plants, objects, and vague blurring layers of color aim to express in-betweenness of perspective and identity. This act of adding and subtracting simultaneously acts as a coping mechanism imbuing a sense of vulnerability while in the comfort of being “home.” Delicate veil like transparencies act as a physical layer of history, and as a means to blur figure and object. These thin coats allow the figure to become camouflaged within familiar domestic spaces, comparable to the invisibility of migrant, and diasporic families.
Yamazaki’s current solo exhibition is at the United Talent Agency Gallery, Los Angeles (2023). He has participated in numerous group exhibitions at Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles (2022); Hashimoto Contemporary, Los Angeles (2022); The Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, Los Angeles (2022); Sow & Tailor, Los Angeles (2022); Blue Line Arts Gallery, Roseville (2021); Tag Gallery, Los Angeles (2020); Hawaiʻi Pacific University Arts Gallery, Kaneohe (2020); Pauahi Tower, Honolulu (2019); ARTS at Marks Garage, Honolulu (2018); Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu (2018); Honolulu City Hall, Honolulu (2018); Aupuni Space, Honolulu (2018); and Schaefer International Gallery, Kahului (2018), to name a few. He was a recipient of the Innovate Grant (2022) and was shortlisted for the Hopper Prize (2022). In 2020, he was the co-curator of Who are you? at Hawaiʻi Pacific University Art Gallery. Yamazaki’s work has been featured in Booooooom, Friend of the Artist v. 13, and Santa Clara Review.
“Being born and raised in Hawaiʻi has brought me a rich and diverse experience with a unique community. I do have a huge appreciation for the arts in Hawaiʻi, and would like the opportunity to show my support and appreciation to my hometown.”
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All artworks ship from Honolulu. Shipping costs are the responsibility of the buyer. Applicable sales tax will apply to all works shipped within Hawaiʻi. Please note, bidders will be charged for the total purchase price; 3% processing fee, 2.9% credit card transaction fee, plus $0.30 per transaction, if applicable; and any sales tax, based on your registration address. For transactions over $10,000, you will be given the option to pay via wire transfer. Please direct inquiries to events@hawaiicontemporary.org.
For Lack of Better Words | Shingo Yamazaki
Item #107
$7,500- 1 bid
Minimum Bid Increment:
$500
Value:
$10,000
Available:
May 12, 2023 @ 08:00am - May 28, 2023 @ 05:00pm HST
Donated By:
Sow and Tailor | Proceeds benefit the artist and Hawaiʻi Contemporary.
